
Book.^ ■V^'g 



HISTORY OF BOHEMIA. 



■■^., ♦. 




John Hus. 



HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 



BY ROBERT H. 'VICKERS 



Autnor of "Martyrdoms of Literature," etc., etc. 



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CHICAGO 

CHARLES H. SERGEL COMPANY 

MDCCCXCIV 






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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1894, by 
Robert H. Vickers, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at 
Washington. 

All Rights Reserved. 



T)B^-0- 



PREFACE. 

Whatever may be the success of this book, the labor 
expended in the preparation of it has been very great. 
The unhappy land whose story is here recorded had, 
until very recentl}^, almost sunk out of observation, 
and its very name had become understood more as a 
metonym for literary vagabondage than as expressing 
the dwelling place of a once great nation. The history 
of Bohemia is totally unknown to the great majority 
of English speaking people. But the presence of a 
large body of Bohemians in the United States, the 
association of some members of that nation with the 
very foundation of the American colonies and their 
experiences in Europe identical with those of the other 
pioneers of our Commonwealth, render the history of 
Bohemia's career essential to the education of everv 
American. Citizens will perhaps hear with incredu-j 
lity the assertion that the civil constitution of Bohemia' 
is the parent of that of England and of our own.; 
Well may the Americans study the story of centuries' 
struggle to maintain and transmit an institutional sys- 
tem, almost identical with that of the United States, 
during those dark ages when almost all semblance of 
a recognition of popular institutions had elsewhere 
disappeared. To the many struggles of Bohemia we 
owe the perpetuation of our boasted freedom in an era 
when only the Bohemian arm was raised in its de- 
fense. Lovers and champions of human rights, as 
Americans are, they may welcome the recital of a tale 
of rugged heroism in defense of strictly popular prin- 
ciples, five, six, yes, seven centuries before the sail 
of the Mayflower wafted a similar "body politic" to 
our shores. Americans will learn with still greater 



6 PREFA CE 

admiration, and possibly with astonishment, that the 
spirit that maintained and fought, and held, and al- 
most died many times during six centuries, has never 
been subdued, though often beaten, and almost crushed 
into obliteration for two hundred and sevent}' years. 
Especially sad is the recital, and replete with narra- 
tion of agonies certainly unequalled since Jerusalem 
fell before Titus. So persistent has been the struggle 
for liberty, for a free mind, and a free body, 'for popu- 
lar self-government and national independence, and 
so fierce, relentless, and barbarous has been the vio- 
lence employed for the annihilation of these coveted 
rights, that the spirit of revenge has attempted, with 
large success, to obliterate the very record of the 
struggle, lest its purposes and its character should be 
known. Even the perpetrators of all these horrors 
against Bohemia have not scrupled to cast out the 
name of that land as a synonj'm of vagabondage. Bo- 
hemia's early enlightenment and free civil policy in 
one sense proved its misfortune, inasmuch as the rest 
of the world was then too barbarous and too cruel 
either to understand or to tolerate it. Hence the es- 
pecial difficulty of providing connected materials for 
a continuous narrative. The enemies of Bohemia have 
always directed their especial venom against its liter- 
ature. In every age when its efforts for enlightenment 
became conspicuous and palpably useful, the good was 
savagely beaten down and extirpated from the earth. 
Only by remnants discovered at intervals outside its 
borders,, from Italy to Sweden, and from Silesia to 
Scotland, have chroniclers and scholars been able to 
secure the memorials sufficient for a history. With a 
shocking brutality of inhumanity the persecutors of 
Bohemia repeatedl}' swept every discoverable and ac- 
cessible vestige of the native literature to utter de- 



PREFACE 7 

struction. Again and again has the work of centuries 
been effaced by the fury of the devastator; and as late 
as A. D 1849, there were those who traversed the 
land destroying Bohemia's books with as much vindic- 
tivenessasof old, as many persons now citizens of the 
United States can testify. That this narrative may be 
the better understood, it is proper here to premise that 
five principal periods constitute the story of Bohemia : 

I. From the foundation of the nation to the death 
of Otakar II. A, D., 1278. 

II. From 1278 to the close of the Hussite wars, 

1435- 

III. From the Hussite wars to the Reformation 

period and the calamities of 1545. 

IV. From 1545 to the dreadful disasters and cruel 
sufferings, 1620- 1635. 

V. From that period to the revival of Bohemian 
language and life, 1848-1870. 

Of these periods the first is necessarily explanatory 
of the others. It exhibits the origin, character and 
persistency of the Bohemian civil institutions until 
the fatal intervention of the house of Habsburg. 

The second discloses the causes — many of them 
hitherto misrepresented — of the Hussite reformation 
and the splendid achievements which distinguished 
that great epoch. 

The third exhibits the unbroken continuity of the 
great religious reform until assumed and perpetuated 
by its strong advocates of the sixteenth century. 

The fourth represents Bohemia in bondage and in 
woe; but still true to her national principles, and si- 
lently resolved to re-assert them. 

The fifth exhibits the appalling cruelties and calam- 
ities of the seventeenth century unexampled and un- 
approached for barbarity in the annals of any other 



8 PRE FA CE 

nation ancient or n^odern. No people have ever been 
made the victims of such atrocious malignity of per- 
secution as the Bohemians in that period. The suffer- 
ings of Holland indeed were dreadful — those of Bo- 
hemia wholly without parallel. 

The Bohemian people are more than entitled to the 
vindication accorded to them, however imperfectly, in 
this story. Their nation has been persistently insulted, 
their name made a mockery, their character maligned, 
and their most honorable efforts as industrious citizens 
sedulously calumniated. To the apprehension of most 
persons a Bohemian means a vagabond, a gypsy, a 
tramp, an anarchist, a conspirator. The least breath 
of popular discontent is attributed to Bohemians ; and 
yet they are a most orderly, industrious, peaceable 
and thrifty people, good citizens in every walk of life. 

To exhibit this story in its truth the author has re- 
ferred to original authorities. In the destruction of Bo- 
hemian literature, and the prohibition to publish any 
work in that language in force for centuries, the silence 
of the Bohemian tongue is accounted for. Fortunately 
other languages largely supply its place. Among other 
authorities, 

Cosmas the chronicler of Prague adorned the eleventh 
century, and his work is extant. 

Pontes Rerum Bohemicarum contains valuable ma- 
terials; both composed in Latin. 

iEneas Sylvius, pope Pius II, wrote his history 
of Bohemia in Latin. 

Melchior Goldast has preserved in Latin and Ger- 
man large volumes of most valuable state documents 
from the tenth century down to the seventeenth. They' 
have been liberally used. 

Balbinus also wrote in Latin. His Supplementum 
contains a large amount of most valuable public rec- 



PREFACE 9 

ords from Methodius to Matthias II, of Hungary, — 
1611 — that are wanting in Goldast. 

All the German Annalists whose works shed light 
on our subject are in the same tongue. 

Amos Komensky, the illustrious educator and eye 
witness of the horrors of 1620-1635, wrote his Historia 
Persecutionum in Latin originally. Every copy of 
his work is supposed to have been destroyed; but for- 
tunately a Bohemian translation had been secured. 

Paulus Stransky another martyr and exile also wrote 
in Latin and his work is almost the only one known 
in England. It is replete with details of the institu^ 
tions, rights, laws, and vicissitudes of Bohemia. 

Palacky composed his history, first published, in Ger- 
man — his last volume in Bohemian — a splendid triumph. 

Pelzel wrote in German. 

No early annalist or historical work of any kind ex- 
ists in Bohemian. Histories indeed now abound in 
that language, but all are translations. 

The author, however, has freely used the most im- 
portant of these, including the excellent and recent 
work of Rezek ; and is indebted to the scholarly and 
pains-taking assistance of thoroughly competent Bo- 
hemians who do not care to be here quoted. 

The number of works included in the authorities 
employed is great; but their recapitulation would 
seem pedantic, as they consist of the well-known 
works of classic authors familiar to scholars. 

In the brief account of the biography of Genghis 
Khan, I have made use of DeMailla and other author- 
ities, as the subject is exhibited to illustrate the story in 
a phase generally unknown and to most readers obscure. 
On that subject I prefer De Mailla, and I have not 
quoted at second-hand from any writer on Bohemia. 

This book being produced partly as a friendly and 



lo PREFACE 

profoundly sympathetic offering to the Bohemian peo- 
ple, in token that their wrongs are not wholly forgot- 
ten or overlooked, and partly as a free contribution 
to general historical literature, it has been necessary 
to adapt the work perhaps more to the general reader 
than to the Bohemian. Names of cities and persons 
have been presented in English and also in Bohemian 
form as more suitable ; and the author has endeav- 
ored, however imperfectl)', to present a work that shall 
fairly represent the special reverence of Bohemians 
for details of their own history, and also respect the 
broader views of the ordinary reader. To draw the 
line between the taste of the Bohemian who prizes 
every syllable of his country's story, and the minute 
deeds of its heroes, and the general student who cares 
only for a narration of political institutions in their 
general influence on the fate of nations is perhaps not 
possible. But sufficient of both has been presented to 
exhibit the character of the events set forth. Above all 
things truth has been sought, and it is fully believed ex- 
pressed, although it may be in some directions distaste- 
ful. He who undertakes to write history must set forth 
history and not merely a sentimental fragment of it. 

The real causes of Bohemia's wrongs and downfall 
have been investigated and exliibited however the 
statement of them may be regarded. If the real causes 
of the events be not described the events themselves 
are of little importance. 

This book attempts to occupy a space at present 
wholly empty in the English language; and if the 
good the volume can do will only represent a frac- 
tion of the many years of toil — though it must be 
said, enthusiastic toil, involved in it, the writer will 
be thankful. It is cordially presented as friendship's 
sympathetic offering to the Bohemian people. 



CONTENTS. 

HAPTER • PAGE 

^ I. Geographical Conditions n 

^11. Early Occupants— First Roman Aggression i8 

., Ill Settlement and Political Institutions of the Chekh. .,. 35 

^' IV. Bohemia Assumes a Place among Nations 41 

^ V. Division of the German Empire; and war with Louis 

the Pious 49 

/ VI. Separation of the Eastern and Western Churches and 

its Relation to Bohemia — War with Germany. ... 54 

[/vi\. Internal Polity of Bohemia 72 

i/S[\\\. The Great Era of Bretislav— Administration of Bohe- 
mia strictly Native and Local 85 

Z>-IX. Vratislav— Gregory VII— Bohemia becomes a King- 
dom 108 

Clerical Celibacy Introduced into Bohemia — First 
Crusade — Civil War — Education— Great Victory 

over the Germans — Religious Sects 125 

/' XI. Interference of Barbarossa in Bohemia — Death of that 
Prince — Clerical Celibacy, and Connection of 
this Subject with the Hussite Reformation — In- 
crease and Spread of Sects — Premysl Otakar I, — 
Cardinal Guido and the Cumanians — Andreas, the 

Thomas a Becket of Bohemia 159 

XII. Wenzel I.— Otakar II— The Tartars 195 

:'XIII. Otakar II 230 

'XIV. Disorganized Condition of Bohemia after the Death of 

Otakar 291 

XV. Internal Commotions to the Death of King John 323 

^, XVI. Reign of Charles IV 357 

.XVII. The Growth of the Hussite Reformation 378 

XVIII. Council of Constance and Martyrdom of Hus 402 

^ XIX. Period of the Hussite War 421 

,;■ XX. Council of Basle — Rise of George Podebrad 446 

XXI. The Decadence of Bohemia 499 



14 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII. Emperor Maximilian, Rudolph II., Matthias, Ferdi- 
nand II 560 

XXIII. Bohemia prostrated and Crushed 594 

XXIV. Carnival of Devastation and Cruelty in Bohemia 612 

XXV. Destruction of the Nobility. ... 627 

XXVI. Waldstein, Carafa, Monks, Jesuits and their Cruelties. 631 

XXVII. The Thirty Year's War Continued 659 

XXVIII. . Bohemia from 1648 to 1782 686 

XXIX. Bohemia from 1782 to 1848 706 

XXX. Bohemia from 1848 to the Present Time 721 

APPENDIX 753 

INDEX 759 



MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

John Hus o Frontispiece. 

Map of Bohemia 13 

Early Bohemian Art 46 

Cosmos, Dean of Prague 134 

Coin of King Wenzel 196 

Seal of Otakar II ig6 

Karlstein 358 

Bethlehem Church 378 

Birthplace of Hus 386 

John Zizka 410 

Hussite Weapons 438 

View of Vysehrad 550 

John Amos Komensky 656 

Joseph Debrovsky , 706 

Joseph Safarik 710 

Joseph Jungmann ; 710 

John Kollar 710 

Francis L. Celakovsky 710 

Charles Haffrlicek 728 

Francis Palacky 734 

Bohemian National Theatre 740 




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HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 



CHAPTER I. 



GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS. 



Bohemia is a small and somewhat isolated country 
situated in the heart of Europe, between g° 45' 35" 
and 14° 31' 22" east of Paris, and 48° 33' 53" and 51° 
3' 27" degrees of north latitude. It is a geographical 
picture framed with mountains ; and the forests, pla- 
teaux and plains with their abrupt ravines and spread- 
ing undulations, and the numerous streams that di- 
rect their bright currents to the central Elbe provide 
the successive light and shade of the panorama. The 
various groups of mountains which establish at once 
the isolation and the compactness of the country fairly 
represent the principal geological periods of mount- 
ain formation. The primitive mountains proper oc- 
cupy chiefly the south and southeast, and include the 
Bohmervald, the northern, and the Sumava the 
southern portion of the great chain which constitutes 
in general the southern boundary of the country. This 
chain is composed chiefly of the primitive rocks, — 
granite, schiste, and mica-schiste. 

A second chain of primitive mountains protects the 
northwest; and is divided into three principal por- 
tions, one of which stretches away into Saxony. The 
formation of this group is chiefly granitic. In the midst 

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12 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of these mountain ranges last named is found a small 
elevated plateau named Labska Louka (Elbewiese) 
which gives rise to the Labe River or Elbe. The 
elevation of the principal peaks varies from 3,000 to 
5,000 feet. A third chain of primitive mountains 
called in geography Adlergebirge (Orlicke Hory), con- 
stitutes a group apart from the others and is com- 
posed of gneiss and mica-schiste. 

The Silurian epoch is well represented by the Brdy 
Hills; and in this formation fossils of crustaceans, 
cephalopods, and marine zooliths are found in abund- 
ance. Still more important are the coal deposits, 
several of which are still worked with excellent re- 
sults; and one at least was extensively mined as early 
as the fifteenth century but is now exhausted. 

A third system of mountain elevations occupies a 
place between the former two. Known under the 
general title of Stony, this group contains coal, iron 
and chalk; and furnishes excellent quarry stone in 
several places. A fourth system consists of numer- 
ous hills of volcanic origin which range from 1,000 to 
2,000 feet in height. 

The river system of Bohemia is abundantly capable 
of supplying all that is needed for inland navigation. 
It occupies about a two hundredth part of the surface 
of the country, and is remarkable for the facility with 
which it can be made available for boats and barges. 
But while the portion of water surface available for 
boats amounts to nearly one hundred and thirty miles 
in length, the navigable portion extends to about one- 
third of that distance. The canal system is not ex- 
tensive and covers only about thirty miles. In general 
the streams are but tributaries to the Elbe which is 
the great water way of Bohemia. Many small lakes 



GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS 13 

diversify the landscape; and they are noticeable for 
the softness of the water. Very little marsh land ex- 
ists, and the entire amount does not exceed fifteen 
hundred acres. 

The climate of Bohemia is mild and salubrious, 
and has always favored the nurture of a very vigorous 
population. Thunder and hail storms in the mount- 
ain regions are frequent and severe, and the transition 
from winter to summer, and again to winter, is notice- 
abl}'^ abrupt; but the summer season partakes much of 
the character of spring. 

The surface is undulating and the soil fertile, and 
produces with ordinary attention and skill every de- 
scription of food known, usually, in the center of Eu-' 
rope. Extensive regions are covered with valuable 
timber forests containing oak, elm, maple, ash, ha- 
zel, whitethorn, wild plum, buckthorn, cornel, and 
wild fruit trees of many kinds. The more elevated 
regions produce pine and red oak of excellent quality. 
The mulberry, the chestnut, the poplar, and the aca- 
cia, adorn the level country and the river banks in 
great abundance. The flora of Bohemia is very diver- 
sified, and includes many Alpine plants usually dis- 
covered only in a warmer latitude. Mines of silver, 
copper, iron and lead afford the source of a highly 
remunerative industry; and tin, antimony, zinc, 
nickel, tungsten, uranium, sulphur^ and alum contrib- 
ute a very important portion of the general wealth. 

Carp, pike, perch, salmon in the Elbe, and trout, are 
found usually in the streams, and in the south form a 
valuable addition to the food of the people ; while the 
parks and farms are fairly stocked with deer and the 
usual varieties of game and domestic animals. The 
natural elements of comfort and wealth are furnished 



14 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in sufficient abundance to maintain a hard}^ robust, en- 
lightened and independent people. 

Bohemia is fully supplied not only with the means 
to feed and invigorate her children, but also with 
those natural palliatives of disease and debilit}^ com- 
monly knov/n as mineral waters. The springs of Top- 
litz, Karlovary (Carlsbad), Marienbad, Franzensbad, 
Bilin, Kysibel, and Libverda are all resorted to by the 
feeble and suffering. The first named locality is a 
resort of wide celebrity. Two abundant springs of 
warm water known respectively as the Hauptquelle, 
and the Steinbadquelle, issue from the porphyry, and 
form the stream of the Schonau. Numerous other 
springs are found at different levels in the little val- 
ley, and all contain the same mineral properties. 
These various springs when united form a considerable 
stream of warm water whose beneficent qualities are 
sufficient for a far more numerous body of health seek- 
ers than resort to them; while the character of warmth 
has supplied, as usual, the title of the locality.* 

While nature has been thus bountiful her beneficence 
has been liberally imitated. Not alone the wealthy 
and exalted among men are cared for at Toplitz. Two 
large establishments are well sustained for the accom- 
modation of those whose only passport to admission is 
a certificate of their poverty. Hundreds of poor per- 
sons find shelter and medical aid in these establish- 
ments; and there is another especial hospice for the 
Jews; and still a fourth for the poor of the locality. 
So valuable — even indispensable is considered a re- 
course to the therapeutic power of the springs of Top- 
litz that the German and Austrian governments main- 

* Teplice (Toplitz) means "hot springs" in Bohemian. Teply — 
warm, hot. 



GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS 15 

tain large military hospitals at this place, each con- 
taining accommodation for many hundred patients. 

These natural advantages of soil, climate and posi- 
tion did not escape the scrutiny of the tribes who 
have occupied Bohemia in succession. In an age when 
a mountain chain covered with forest, and wholly im- 
passable during the greater portion of the year by 
any small body of uncivilized wanderers, was justly 
considered a most valuable bulwark against foreign 
aggression, and in some directions a complete de- 
fense, and among tribes unacquainted with any princi- 
ple of concern for other interests than their own, the 
possession of a rich region protected on nearly all 
sides by mountain barriers, and providing abundant 
local wealth would be most fiercely disputed by every 
occupant. The isolation of the successful holder or 
invader would necessarily create a sense of hostility 
toward all intrusion which the inhabitant of an open 
country would not always acquire. As population and 
unity of tribal feeling would grow under such circum 
stances every step of progress would naturally create 
a sense of pride and superiority. The primitive ideas 
of men in regard to the advantage if not necessity of 
treating every stranger as an enemy have been in all 
cases intensified by isolation. This habit of thought, 
this community of mind constitutes and supplies the 
golden thread that stretches through the central line 
of their progress and creates national individualitj'. 
Rulers cultivate this feeling, and educate this ten- 
dency; and the result is either a fierce and continuous 
conflict for existence, on one side or for mastery on 
the other; or a complete absorption into the stronger 
power. Unhappy are the remnants of the former pro- 
cess, permitted only to recall in a wiser epoch the 



1 6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

terrors and the cruelties, the appalling tyrannies that 
found no other means, and still worse refused to 
search for other means to reconcile differences but the 
spread of dissension, and the promotion of slaughter, 
in a word treachery, the sword, the gibbet and the 
rack. 

National sentiment has always found its earliest as 
well as its most enduring expression through poetic 
composition. Music, a twin sister, has always has- 
tened to give aid. The early poetry of Bohemia is 
therefore no strange phenomenon. Groping, as we 
must do among the fragmentary relics left to us of 
what was once a great creation, and obliged to form 
an estimate from the sculpture of a capital here, a 
frieze there, and a pedestal in another place, all mu- 
tilated, and to gather the character of the structure 
from the ruins, we are impressed by the simple bold- 
ness of the style and the union of strength and skill 
in the entire composition. If any one of the sixty 
thousand volumes of histories and poetic narrations, 
as well as Bibles that formed at once the triumph and 
the shame of only one of the destroying persecutors 
who extirpated — for the third time — the entire national 
literature of Bohemia after the disastrous slaughter 
of 1620, when even the name of old Bohemia was ex- 
tinguished, were now presented to us in its complete- 
ness, we should have a better memorial of the people 
than any mere fragments can supply. But literature 
shelters itself in obscure places; and sufficient has 
been recovered for comparison out of the wreck of 
Bohemian literary treasures. Differing in tone and 
origin as well as in substance from the mediaevalism 
of the Latins against which it struggled for centuries 
it encouraged its people to resist with all the energy 



GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS 17 

of their nation the invading spirit of foreign dogma, 
and a dominating political aggressiveness that sought 
to elevate itslf on the ruins of Bohemia. In the pro- 
gress of this long conflict, and into the narrow space 
of five* thousand square miles were crowded more 
suffering and more heroismf than into any other equal 
space in the world. 

* In English miles, 20 thousand, 

f Bold I KeXtixov eOvo'^ S^f/piGodedrarov^ Appianus in Celti- 
cis I, 



CHAPTER II. 

EARLY OCCUPANTS, —FIRST ROMAN AGGRESSION. 

Necessarily meagre are the materials and scanty are 
the annals which now form the foundation of any au- 
thentic narrative of the earliest Bohemian experience. 
The wide central region known as Germania included 
a much more extensive territory than modern German}^ 
when it is first introduced by historic narrative. The 
boundaries of German}^ properly so called, were un- 
derstood by- early Roman writers to be the Rhine on 
the west, the Vistula on the east, on the north Swe- 
den and Esthonia, while the Maine and the mountains 
on the north of Bohemia formed the southern limits. 
Long before the days of Tacitus the Helvetii occupied 
the region between the Rhine and Maine, and the Boii 
the country of the Hsrcynian forest further to the 
east.* But the actual location of the Boii, described 
as the "more remote districts," is too vague to be 
even an approximation to certainty. The tribes who 
inhabited the vast region called German}^ before and 
up to the Roman intervention, are included under 
three principal families: — I. The Slavs to the east, 
indefinitely. II. The Cimbri on the west; and III, 
between these the Germans proper, the Suevi of Taci- 
tus. Slavonian tribes were settled in those parts of 

* Olim inter Hercyniam sylvam Rhenumque et Mseniam amnes 
Helvetii, ulteriorae Boji, Gallica utraque gens tenuere. Tacitus, 

Germ, c. 28. 

18 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 19 

Germany unknown to the Romans — Pomerania, Bran- 
denburg, and Upper Saxony. They formed, according 
to Procopius, three separate divisions: — I. The Ven- . 
edi or Wends who had expelled theSuevian Vandals; 
II. The Antes, who extended from the Dnieper to 
the Dniester; III. The Slavonians proper. Eventually 
these kindred races advanced to the Saal and the Elbe, 
and their language formed the basis of the Russian, 
Polish, Bohemian, Croatian, Bulgarian, and other dia- 
lects. The dwellings, clothing, customs, of these 
tribes were necessarily rough, as becams their situa- 
tion; but the people were vigorous, athletic, independ- 
ent and warlike,* while the characteristics of these \ 
tribes may be overdrawn by Caesar,f Strabo,J Taci- 
tus,! and others, yet the universal testimony of all 
writers concedes the manly virtues of free, albeit un- 
civilized men, and the valor of patriotic soldiers to 
ail the tribes of these regions. 

During the spasmodic migrations that occured 
somewhere about five hundred years before our era 
a Keltic or Gallic tribe known as the Boii occupied 
the district on the banks of the Upper Elbe, and ex- 
tended themselves over the regions now known as 
Bavaria, Austria, and Moravia. They probably con- 
stituted a portion of the host of Gallic invaders who 
crossed the Alps about B. C. 388, and subsequently 
sacked Rome, B. C. 382; and they are supposed to 
have impressed a record of their presence on the name 
of Bojonia or Bologna. After the final defeat of their 
Carthagenian ally. Hannibal, in the year B. C. 191 a 

* Germans — men of war. The name Teuton or Deutschen — is 
probably loud-voiced or rough-voiced, though Diutisc— or Folks 
Speech is the accepted explanation. 

f De Bell, Gall. VI. 21—24. %. VII., p. 291. § Ger;nania, pas. 



20 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

remnant of these tribes wandered back toward the 
Danube.* 

The Keltic invasion spread over Greece to the 
Hellespont, and Asia Minor; and in Galatia yielded 
only to the power of Rome.f The aggressiveness of 
Roman greed and ambition furnished a pressing occa- 
sion for the union of native strength; and the talents 
of Caesar were as frequently exercised to disunite con- 
federacies as to overcome military prowess in open 
war. Among others the Helvetii united and obtained 
an auxiliary force from the Boii; but the fatal engage- 
ment between the legions and Helvetians, B. C. 58, 
broke the power of the latter people and reduced the 
Boii also to the position of suppliants. At the request 
ofthe^dui, allies of Rome, thirty-two thousand war- 
riors besides the old men, women and children who. 
accompanied them, were admitted within Roman fron- 
tiers, and acknowledged the eagle as their symbol 
for a time. I 

After a short period of ten years the power of the 
Boii received another crushing blow. The Dacians 
and Getae arose to an evanescent prominence under 
Boerebista. Irritated apparently by a refusal of ac- 
tive alliance, this chieftain directed his arms against 
the Boii. Their chief Kritaser resisted the aggression. 

* T. Livius XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXIX. Strabo Geo, V. 212, 213. 

f St. Paul who was a master of the art of suiting his style to the 
temper of his hearers has left us a lucid analysis of the character of 
the Kelts in his epistle to the Galatians, not directly or in express 
words but by his method. 

X Bell, Gall. 1.28. "Caesar Boios, petentibus /Eduis, quod egregia 
virtute erant cogniti ut in finibus suis coUocarent, concessit, quibus 
illi agrosdederunt quosque postea in paris juris libertatisque conditio- 
nem utque ipsi erant,. receperunt," 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 21 

In an engagement supposed to have taken place on 
the banks of the Boab, the Boii were crushed, and 
their country so terribly devastated that for a long 
period it bore only the name of the Boiian waste.* 
During about half a century the Boii devoted them- 
selves to the unostentatious but wholesome occupa- 
tion of improving and cultivating the territory still 
left to them, greatly reduced in area as it was. Many 
of the towns that gradually grew up in this period 
may be identified with modern localities; but the 
identification is obscure. Bohemia proper, in Caesar's 
day, was known as the Hercynian Forest; and the 
cities and settlements in the interior were wholly un- 
known. Bohemia never was included in the Roman 
Empire. The repose of the Boii continued about half 
a century. Their restless and energetic neighbors, the 
Marcomannif gradually advanced their possessions 
from the Oder to the Danube along both banks. These 
formidable borderers attracted the attention and the 
statescraft of the Emperor Augustus; and the young 
chieftain of the Marcomanni, Marbod, was induced 
to commit himself to the power of his mighty rival, 
and was educated in the Caesar's palace. This richly 
endowed and enterprising man employed his oppor- 
tunities at Rome in the thorough study of Roman 
civil and military science. He was one of those rare 
persons who are equally eminent as warriors and 
statesmen. Returning at length to his native land he 
bore with him a thorough comprehension of Roman 
craft, and a full appreciation of Roman power. The 
dignity of court ceremonial, and the pomp of military 
* Strabo V, VIT. P]in. Hist. III. 

f Men of the March, — Borderers; evidently not the name of the 
people at all. 



2 2 HIS TOR Y OF B ORE MIA 

display were successful!}^ employed at home not for 
the acquisition but the maintenance of his supreme 
authority. Possessed naturally of a lofty character, 
he appreciated dignity. Roman culture onl}^ disclosed 
the native splendor of the man and enabled him to 
reflect back on his instructors the full measure of the 
light he received from them, intensified with an addi- 
tional sparkle peculiarly his own. 

Prevented from extending his ambitious views south 
of the Danube, but eager for the possession of wide 
authority, he turned his thoughts toward the weaker 
tribes on his immediate border. Being well aware of 
the feeble condition of the Boii he directed his first 
expedition against them; took possession of their 
country without difficulty, and made their capital 
Buianium, henceforward denominated Marobudum, 
his chief residence. These events are referred to the 
year 12 B. C. The manners of the Marcomanni and 
their associates, the Quadi did not materially differ 
from those of other German tribes, Marbod exerted 
his infliince to unite all the tribes under him into 
one nation. He also invited or detained the scattered 
Roman settlers and encouraged them to continue their 
commerce and their trades under his protection and 
in the neighborhood of his own residence. A trained 
soldier, he created an army of 70,000 foot and 4,000 
horse, disciplined in the Roman manner; and thus 
acquired the position of a formidable neighbor. The 
tribes of the north, east, and west of Bohemia, the 
Lygians in Upper Silesia, the Selingi, a branch of the 
Vandals to the north of the Reisengebirge Mount- 
ains, the Burgundians on the Oder and Warta, the 
Goths on the Vistula, the Semnones in Lusatia and 
Brandenburg, the Hermunduri in Saxony, and the 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 23 

Longobards to the north of the Hermunduri, and even 
the Narisci in the Upper Pa'atinate, all acknowledged 
the supremacy and submitted more or less to the di- 
rect authority of Marbod.* The rapidity and ease 
with which this extended authority was acquired are 
more suggestive of policy than of war; and although 
historians attribute to Marbod the employment of 
force as well as skill, f yet it is more probable that 
conciliation had the larger than the smaller share in 
his success. His power was known; and as unlettered 
people are always very observant of individual char- 
acter, and hence are good judges of it, the individu- 
ality of the man may be considered as the real found- 
ation of his supremacy. In his communications with 
Augustus Marbod was cautious and dignified. He 
spoke as to an equal; and while he carefully avoided 
giving offense he maintained his independence. But 
imperial jealousy disdained to endure so formidable a 
consolidation of alien strength on the frontier. Mar- 
bod's friendly overtures only created ground for pre- 
tended grievances; and in the 6th year before our era, 
Augustus placed two great armies in motion against 
the Marcomanni. One under Sentius Saturninus 
military commander in Upper Germany was ordered 
to march from tlie Rhine toward the Chatti aiid the 
Hercynian Forest, and strike the enemy on the flank, 
while Tiberius — stepson and successor of Augustus 
with the principal army was to advance from the Dan- 
ube and unite his forces with Saturninus in Bohemia. 
Tiberius had advanced to within five days march of 

* Strabo VII. Tac. Annal, II. Drusus in his expedition to the 
Elbe in the year 9, B. C, ascribes even a wider influence to Marbod, 

f Finitimos omnes aut bello domuit aut conditionibus juris sui 
fecit. Veil. Pater. II. 



24 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

his enemy to Carnuntium, (between Vienna and Heini- 
berg;) Saturninus was within an equally short dis 
tance,* when the advance was countermanded by im- 
perial orders from Rome, 

At this critical juncture for Marbod and his March- 
men, the Roman world was awestruck by the intelli- 
gence of a long prepared conspiracy among all the 
Pannonians and Dalmatians for the murder of Roman 
settlers without distinction, and the seizure of the 
fortresses for the conspirators. Even the cold and 
hardened mind of Augustus was deepl)' affected by 
the imminence of this peril. His own acquaintance 
with the tribes who originated this conspiracy, his 
knowledge that among such inflammable material, a 
little spark would speedily spread into a conflagration, 
rendered him prompt and decisive in delaying aggres- 
sive militar}^ operations until his internal security was 
assured. The conviction that in all likelihood a ruler 
like Marbod would sooner or later become the chief 
of such a conspiracy was probably the secret reason 
for the Roman expedition against him; and Augustus 
well knew that the subjugated Germans had good rea- 
son for dissatisfaction and hostility in the grievous 
exactions of Roman governors. Every Roman settle- 
ment from the Danube to Macedonia was menaced; 
the chief armies were buried in German forests; and 
with a formidable foe in front and a flaming rebellion 
threatened in their rear, the peril to Italy was both 
near and alarming. Barbarian combinations, how- 
ever, were unequally matched against Roman craft, 
and the young Kingdom of Bohemia was accorded a 

* The modern Germans have studied this splendid display of mili- 
tary genius with great profit. 



EARLY OCCUPANTS. 25 

favor, the privilege conceded to Ulysses of being eaten 
last.* 

Tiberius concluded a treaty of peace and amity 
with Marbod ; and turned his arms against the south- 
ern confederacy. "f The foresight of Augustus was tri- 
umphant. 

The position of Liberator which Marbod was unable 
to assume, was daringly seized in the year A. D. g by 
the 3'^oung chieftain of the Cherusci known as Arminius 
or Herman. Tha Roman general, Quintilius Varus, 
was enticed into the great Teutonian forest and his 
three splendid legions almost annihilated. Varus fell 
by his own hand and his dissevered head was sent to 
Marbod as a bloody trophy. But true to his prudence 
or his faith Marbod dispatched the head to Rome ac- 
companied by a speci^-l message. 

The destruction of Varus and his legions at once 
constituted Herman undisputed leader of all the Ger- 
man tribes. Henceforth, whoever was not openly 
arrayed on their side was an enemy. Marbod became 
suspected of self-seeking and half-heartedness in the 
German cause. Suspicion of infidelity naturally fol- 
lowed. Hostile feelings were not slow of formation; 
and open war between Germany and Bohemia was the 
disastrous result. The Seujnones and Longobards, 
neighbors of the Cherusci were enticed or forced from 
the support of Marbod; and at length in the year A. 
D. 17, the rival hosts stood in open array against 
each other. The leaders trained in the Roman schools 
were equal in courage, ability and skill. Herman's 
followers were stimulated by recent success. Marbod's 

* Nihil erat jam in Germaniaquod vinci posset prseter gentemMar- 
comannorum. Veil, Pat. II. 

f Tacit, Annal II, 



26 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

army was thoroughly trained, and led by experienced 
officers. The defection of the Semnones and Lon- 
gobards was compensated b}' the reinforcement of Mar- 
bod by Herman's uncle. and his division. The old 
man felt aggrieved at the sudden elevation of his neph- 
ew and disdained to serve under his orders. The battle 
was fought in Upper Saxon}', and was fiercely dis- 
puted. -The right wing of each arm}' was crushed. 

Marbod attempted the dangerous maneuver of taking 
a new position in the presence of his enemy. His 
movements were misunderstood; and resulted in bro- 
ken ranks and at length in desertions and flight. Re- 
turning to his own dominions the Bohemian prince 
laid his claims for aid and friendship before the tor- 
tuous deceitfulness of Tiberius. With ill concealed 
satisfaction at the overthrow of one German poten- 
tate by another, the Roman replied that "as Marbod 
had not made an earlier application for aid against 
the Cherusci, he had forfeited all claim to the assist- 
ance now demanded." 

Neither mountain fastnesses nor forest wilderness 
could shield Bohemia like the genius of her discomfited 
soldier. The alliance of the tribes who acknowl- 
edged his power was dissolved at once; and onl}' the 
Marcomanni and Quadi remained faithful to their al- 
legiance. 

Tiberius sent his trusted representative, Drusus, to 
the Danube, apparently in the interest of peace and 
conciliation ; really with the intent of setting the warring 
clansmen at still more fatal variance, and hastening 
the total destruction of the Bohemian prince, formerly 
both suspected and threatened. Personal malice and 
revenge supplied the instrument which completed the 
deadly purposes of Rome. Kattwald, a Gothic chief 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 27 

formerly dispossessed by Marbod, but generously 
spared, at length perceived his opportunity to retaliate 
on his now weak and almost deserted rival. Secretly 
encouraged and strengthened by Drusus, Kattwald as- 
sembled an army, assailed the Marcomanni unexpect- 
edly, seized Marbod' s capital and palace, and speedily 
became master of all the treasures and strong places 
in the kingdom. Marbod retreated with a remnant of 
faithful kinsmen within the Roman boundaries in Aus- 
tria; and thence wrote a dignified and manly letter to 
Tiberius; and like another Napoleon claimed from his 
strongest opponent's generosity an asylum which 
only his misfortunes could induce him to request. 
The Caesar replied that Marbod could always find an 
asylum in Italy as long as he preferred to remain 
there in quietness; but he was at liberty to depart 
wherever he thought proper to go if this offer was 
net acceptable. The city of Ravenna was assigned 
to the exiled prince, and there like another Cetywayo, 
Abd-el-Kader, Schamyl, or Dhuleep Singh, he con- 
tinued for eighteen years* at once a pledge of the \n 
glorious repose of his people, and a living memorial 
of their departed greatness. 

No fact recorded of this series of events more strik- 
ingly reflects the well grounded apprehensions of the 
Romans of the peril to themselves from Marbod's ele- 
vation than the success of the latter in restraining 
Gothic enmity. Originally of Indo-European stock, and 
bearing in their language distinct traces of an affinity 
with those nations whose mother tongue could claim de- 
scent from the Sanscrit, the Goths had very earlypene- 
trated into northern and western Europe. The dialect 

* Goldast says: "Obiit post annus viginti." p. 70. But the Roman 
annalists are more exact 



2 8 HIS TORY OF B O HE MIA 

of Ulphilas in the north, and the names of the Eng- 
lish rivers still in common use, as well as of the Nile, 
all proclaim the presence of Sanscrit speech before 
the advent of the Keltic tribes. At the period of our 
history the Gothic power in Pomerania and along the 
shores of the Baltic was great. From them this inland 
sea received its name. Sinus Codthanus; and the isl- 
and of Gothland recalls their memory. Scythians 
they were called in western Europe; and the name 
slightly altered is still familiar. Their division into 
Ostrogoths and Visigoths did not take place until our 
third centur)-. In the time of Kattwald a reflex move- 
ment of Goths from the north seems to have been be- 
gun; and the tall of Marbod probably removed the 
chief obstacle to their migration. The Romans did 
not know or could not estimate their power; and 
would have been more secure with their faithful ally 
Marbod as an obstacle to Gothic invasion. 

Neither Kattwald nor either of the other foes 
whose treachery or violence had effected the overthrow 
of the Marcomanni long survived the enmity created 
by his success. Herman was blinded by his own fol- 
lowers and subsequently murdered in less than a year 
after Marbod's fall, at the early age of thirty-seven* 
Drusus died of poison four years later; and his wife 
was universally adjudged to be his murderess. Katt- 
wald was sent into banishment in Narbonese Gaul; 
and his people subjected to the rule of a stranger — 
Vannius, a prince of the Quadi of the well known 
Tudor family, settled along the Danube within Roman 
jurisdiction. 

Vannius extended his authority eastward until he 

* Septem et triginta annos vitae. Tac, lib. 2. Goldast p. 69. 



EARLY OCCUPANTS • 29 

reached the Dacians and Yazyges between the Borys- 
thenes and the Theiss. The precise limits of his juris- 
diction cannot be accurately ascertained. He main- 
tained an alliance with Bebellius, prince of the Her- 
munduri, and with his sister's sons, Vanjio and Sido, 
who seem to have ruled conjointly. Sido reigned un- 
til the year A. D. 70 when he took part in the Roman 
civil war on the side of Vespasian. From this p3riod 
Bohemia and the neighboring provinces are supposed 
to have enjoyed the rule of several small independent, 
but allied powers something similar to a Heptarchy, 
and more resembling the equality of republican ad- 
ministration where several states are united in a con- 
federation. This repose continued until the year A. 
D. 90, when the pressure of the Dacian war induced 
Domitian to request military aid from the Quadi and 
Marcomanni. These people had never been included 
within the Roman Empire; and the Caesar had no 
right to any military contingent. His demand was 
firmly declined, and the ambassadors of the Bohemians 
were murdered out of revenge. The Roman tyrant 
was eventually compelled to purchase a shameful 
peace by the payment of th'? first tribute ever exacted 
from a Roman. 

The quiet that ensued was disturbed in the reign of 
Marcus Aurelius by the second war of the Marcomanni. 
Ten confederated nationalities united and assailed the 
Roman provinces. They were in turn impelled by the 
advancing hosts of the Slavi, and clamored for ad- 
mission and protection.* Illvricum was over-run, 
Opitergium destroyed, and Aquileia besieged. Lucius 

* Victovalis et Marcomannis cuncta turbantibus, aliis etiam genti- 
bns quae pulsse a superioribus barbaris fugerant, nisi reciperentur 
bellum inferentibus. Jul. Cap., in Marc. Aurel. Cap. 14. 



30 HISTORY OF B OH E All A 

Verus was hastily recalled from Asia; but the terror in 
Italy was great and was aggravated by famine and 
pestilence. The Praetorian Furius Victcrinus obtained 
some successes. The Quadian leader was slain and 
his followers were compelled to sue for peace, and 
yielded a complete submission. 

But the withdrawal of the Roman legions could not 
restrain the terror of the unseen enemies still threat- 
ening from the East; and the war broke out speedil}' 
with more fury than before. One swarm of destroyers 
from the Rhine reached the borders of Italy but were 
defeated by Pompeianus and Pertinax. 

At length the Emperor took the field in person: 
drove che invaders over the Danube, established strong 
castles along the border; and filled them with Roman 
garrisons. A. D. 174. 

Marcus Aurelius had determined to reduce the coun- 
tries occupied b}^ the Marcomanni, Quadi and Sarma- 
tians, corresponding to Bohemia, Moravia, and Upper 
Hungary, to the servitude of a Roman province; and 
again the internal distractions of the Empire com- 
pelled the Emperor to suspend the execution of his 
scliemcs. The rebellion of Avidius Cassius in the East 
turned the imperial attention to Syria andEg3'pt; and 
peace reigned again along the Danube. 

The terms accorded to the tribes were not all equally 
severe; and the Marcomanni were the most harsh- 
ly treated. Garrisons containing 20,000 men controlled 
the strong palaces of the Quadi. The latter were for- 
bidden to approach the Danube within a distance va- 
riously stated at one, five and ten miles. Fixed times 
and places were assigned for fairs and other trading 
purposes in Noricum, and among the Pannonians; and 
all Roman prisoners and deserters were surrendered. 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 31 

But complaints speedily arose of the violent inter- 
ference of the military with the peaceable occupations 
of the native peasantry. Remonstrances continued 
unheeded, and resistance ensued. Marcus Aurelius 
was exasperated at finding that his triumph was only 
a delusion. 

Again blood flowed and devastation destroyed the 
simple toil of the people. The death of the Emperor 
at Vienna, March 17, A. D. 180, prevented the total 
destruction of the country. The enforced conscription 
of native youth for military service in Britain and 
elsewhere exasparated the entire people. But Corn- 
modus imposed milder terms of tribute of wheat, 
arms, and conscripts. A monthly court at a fixed 
locality for the administration of justice, even though 
held in the presence of a Roman centurion, gave a 
semblance of law and right to the relations of victors 
and vanquished; but the garrisons were gradually re- 
moved, and military occupation was finally abandoned. 
Bohemia as known to us never became a Roman prov- 
ince. 

During the succeeding two hundred years frequent 
irruptions of borderers and the extension of the terri- 
tory traversed by them gradually extinguished all dis- 
tinctions of boundaries. The limits of Roman authority 
were not defined; they insensibly retrograded; and 
continued broken until the middle of the fourth cen- 
tury. Small native principalities became consolida- 
ted; and during the reigns of Caracalla, Alexander 
Severus, Maximin, Valerian, Gallienus in whose reign 
the Marcomanni advanced to Ravenna, Aurelian, when 
a victory of these invaders created a panic and distress 
in Rome itself, Probus, Diocletian, Constantius II, and 
Julian, the depredations of the persistent and invinci- 



3 2 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMIA 

ble northerners were averted or restrained more by the 
potency of gold than of the sword, and the gold came 
chietly from Eg5'pt and Spain. 

During this period the original tendencies of Roman 
civilization were arrested, and their course perma- 
nently obstructed; foreigners largely composed the 
legions; the current of thought was formed by alien 
minds; the direction of the energies of the popula- 
tions was toward Rome for its subjugation to alien 
principles and feelings; and at length all Roman life 
disappeared in the flood of foreign domination. 

An isolated event or two alone remains to signalize 
this period of Bohemian life, and cast a gleam of 
light upon its condition : Gallienus concluded a sep- 
arate treaty with Attal, king of the Marcomanni, m A.D. 
261; and took to wife the princess Pipara, daughter 
of the German ruler. In A. D. 396 Fritigil, queen of the 
Marcomanni, having heard of the fame of Bishop Am- 
brose, expressed a wish to be admitted to Christian 
communion through the good offices of the famous 
ecclesiastic. The bishop drew up a form of catechism 
expressly for the instruction of the royal applicant, 
who in turn prevailed on her consort to conclude a 
treaty of friendship with the Romans. The death of 
Ambrose in A. D. 397, probably prevented any ex- 
tended or permanent effects from following these in- 
teresting proceedings. 

The quiet development of civil and polite society in 
Germany and Eastern Europe was again broken and 
destroyed by the dreadful invasion of the Huns in A. 
D. 375. Fierce hosts of these barbarians mingled 
with Goths, Vandals, and Slavs, spread consternation 
and ruin all over Europe; and tribes somewhat more 
settled again took the field and "went west" in search 



EARLY OCCUPANTS 33 

of repose from the locusts of the East. Radagais, a 
German prince, with a hundred thousand Keltic and 
German warriors from the Danube and the Rhine 
assailed Italy. A. D. 406, the Vandals crossed the 
Rhine, and associated with the Goths, seized Spain in 
A. D. 429; and soon afterward a Vandal dominion 
was created in Africa. Between A. D. 430 and 453 
the Huns had overrun and subdued all territory as far 
west as the Rhine. The Hunnish king Roas crushed 
the Marcomanni and Quadi who had appealed in vain 
to Rome. Attila, the "Scourge of God" completed 
the ruin of these people, who are no more known by 
their distinctive names in history. Their settlements 
in Bohemia seem to have been left vacant. 

The Celtic Boii and the Teutonic Marcomanni had 
sustained a continuous rule for four hunderd years; and 
after a most gallant struggle, and only when exhaust- 
ed by overwhelming disasters, did they yield place to 
more numerous and mighty successors. Henceforward 
the Slav tribe of the Chekh appear upon the scene; 
they immigrated from beyond the Ister; and finding 
an inviting settlement open to them they quietly took 
possession; and to this day they occupy the plains and 
hillsides of Bohemia. 

In the middle of the fifth century to which we have 
now arrived, the Hercynian forest still constituted the 
chief feature which the broad landscape of the country 
presented. While the banks of the Rhine were so 
peaceful and the inhabitants of Gaul and German}' so 
prosperous that dwellings were freely erected in the 
open country, and along the river banks, immense 
herds of cattle grazed along the plains, and it was 
impossible to tell where Roman dominion ended, it 
was the proud boast of travelers that the Hercynian 



34 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

forest could be penetrated in security.* Attila easily 
supplied himself with an abundance of timber from the 
same region, on his invasion of the Belgic provinces. 

"Cecidit cito secta bipenni 
Hercynia in lintres et Rhenurp texuit alno. 
Et jam terrificis diffuderat Attila turmis 
In campos se Belgi tuos." 

Panegyr, Av. 310. 

The presence of the same friendly shelter, most 
probably, secured the Chekh invaders of Bohemia in 
the obscure possession of their new conquests so effec- 
tually that for a lengthened period their presence as 
a distinct people was unknown except to themselves. 
The isolation of their tribe has appeared a fertile 
theme for the ingenuity of modern etymologists and 
historians in attempts to define the meaning and in- 
vestigate the origin of the name of the new settlers. ■{■ 

* Claudian I. Cons. Stil. I. 221 and II. 186. The Hercynian for- 
est spread over Bohemia and a large portion of eastern Germany 

f See among others a learned and ingenious dissertation on this 
subject in Peltzel. Intro. , to Hist, of Boh. 



CHAPTER III. 

SETTLEMENT AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE CHEKH= 

The generic name of Slavonians has been applied 
to the great family of tribes who seem to have inhab- 
ited the wide regions of Russia and Poland from time 
immemorial. The dialects into which their speech 
was divided were all derived from one common lan- 
guage, and naturally sprang up during the dispersions 
of the people who employed them. About the com- 
mencement of our era colonies of this race settled in 
the level countries of Moldavia and Wallachia; but 
a more southerly soil and climate had not improved 
their civilization, or materially affected their mode 
of life. In complexion they were fairer than their 
Tartar neighbors, but did not equal the light hue 
of the Germans. This nomadic Slavonian race dwelt 
in huts made of rough branches and concealed among 
the wild underbrush of the river bank and the forest. 
Their fields yielded an abundance of millet and buck- 
wheat, and their numerous cattle and sheep supplied 
an opulence of milk, meat and cheese. The Slav 
tribe of the Chekh, possibly by way of Wallachia but 
originally from the Volga across the Borysthenes and 
the Elbe, found its way into the unoccupied district 
of Bohemia at the period of the breaking up of the 
Hunic Empire during the confusion that followed the 
defeat of the Huns by ^tius at the Catalaunian fields 
or Chalons, in A. D- 450, and the destructive civil war 

35 



36 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

that eusaed on the death of Attila A. D. 453. Ellac, 
the eldest son, lost his life in battle with the Ostro- 
goths under Ardaric. His brother Deugchekh main- 
tained a precarious authority on the Danube until a 
rash invasion of the eastern empire exposed his head 
at Constantinople. Iruac retired with his Huns into 
Scythia. On the western border of the Chekh princi- 
pality the Thuringian kingdom extended from the 
Hartz Mountains to the Danube. But the Frank King 
Hermenfrid, A. D. 531, overthrew the Thuringians 
who had been allies of Attila; and thus the Chekh 
and the Franks became immediate neighbors. 

But permanent repose was not earned without further 
struggles. A. D. 558 witnessed the advance from the 
East of a new band of wanderers who lived necessarily 
by pillage as they advanced, and laid claim to posses- 
sions only as they could subdue and retain them. For 
a time* Bohemia suffered the full measure of their 
rapacit)^; but being severely defeated by Sigebert, of 
Austrasia, in two battles — the second probably in Bohe- 
mia, the Chogun Baian was compelled to return in 
humiliation. By the departure of the Lombards to- 
ward Italy, and the destruction of the Gepidae, Baian 
became undisputed master from the Alps to the 
Euxine. 

The absence of centralized government for about one 
hundred and fifty years, until the grandeur of Charle- 
magne spread lustre over Central Europe, compelled 
the Chekh to regulate their domestic concerns on the 
basis of the customs, laws, and precepts which they 
had introduced originally from the steppes of south- 
eastern Russia. Property in land was their chief 

* Gregory of Tours. Paulus Diaconus. Menander, Hist, of By- 
zant. 



INSTITUTIONS OF THE CHEKH 37 

wealth; and was contended for with as much zeal and 
acrimony as in any court in Westminster. The equal 
subdivision of the soil on the demise of the owner, 
which may be the most equitable but is not the most 
expedient principle, was a right claimed by the chil- 
dren of the deceased, or their nearest representatives. 
Primogeniture was not the national custom; but it 
was very early contended for. The distribution of the 
population into village communities necessarily created 
an impatience of interference on the part of any 
stranger with the domestic privileges of each member 
of the little republic. Local and even national coun- 
cils were formed on the principle of equal rights, 
and equal representation. The disposition of the in- 
habitants was fiercely independent; and scenes of 
turbulence in public assemblies only expressed the 
rough self-assertion which disdained the admission of 
inferiority. When union for public purposes became 
indispensable, neither favoritism nor incapacity could 
possibly secure the chief dignit}^ As early as the 
eighth century, the rights of this free people were ex- 
pressed ]n foraial laws which, though ' brief, formed 
a code as really as those of the twelve tables, and 
were enforced in regular councils, or courts, each in 
its appropriate vicinage. Here full and open repre- 
sentation was the inherited right of every class and 
station in the community. The "kmets," "lechs" and 
"vlad3^kas, " the nobles, knights and burghers consti- 
tuted the principal divisions; and each was as fully 
entitled as the others to an equal share in the national 
deliberations. Yet there are evidences of chief dignity 
being retained by a princely family; and of the exer- 
cise of public authorit}' at the request or by the order 
of regal pre-eminence. The customs and temper of 



38 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the Chekh while in the isolation of their own inde- 
pendence were sufficient to prevent the encroachments 
of ro3'alty; and the free spirit of the people was never 
even tampered with, much less subdued, until their 
vehemence of self-assertion took a fatally mistaken di- 
rection in contentions for dogmas that depend as 
much for their acceptance on personal disposition as 
on the exercise of the feelings or the reason, A com- 
prehensive principle may be accepted by an entire 
nation; but the methods of the practical application 
of that principle must be as various as human social 
circumstances or temper. A common way of thinking 
in the application of any rule to the regulation of the 
multiplied conditions of society can never be enforced, 
and an effort to do so can only demonstrate a fatal 
blindness or wickedness in the person who attempts 
it. 

During this period the simple poetic sentiment of 
the people was gradually evoked from their associa- 
tion with the expressive phenomena of pastoral life. 
Natural inanimate objects speak by the sentiments 
they instil; animals are endowed with the human emo- 
tions they excite, and thus become imbued with 
elevated human thoughts and feelings. The poetry 
of the tribes was free from the distortion of superhu- 
mari fable, or inventions substituted for the native 
graces of the human soul. Humanity with its sur- 
roundings of real life and observed natural conditions 
drew from a fountain of fancy and ethics in the actual 
world that should adorn its own experience, and nur- 
ture the growth of its own creations. Beaut}-, grace, 
truth, politeness, and honor men praised and recom- 
mended by the example of stream or hill, or by the 
quaint and gentle sympathy of bird or quadruped. 



INSTITUTIONS OF THE CHEKH 39 

The mind of the people was formed in the unalloyed 
school of primitive observation, and ingenuous self- 
culture; and all attempts to impose a manufactured 
substitute for nature, or the fictions of idleness and 
unnaturalness for the truth of actual experience pro- 
voked the ire and stimulated the fierceness of minds 
accustomed to the grand realities of their own sur-' 
roundings. The Bohemian mind was formed in that 
school that prepared the way for the great philosophy 
of induction. The Bohemians had advanced but a 
short distance in that direction by their own light; 
but they were on the right path; and the exceeding 
suitableness of that path to the tendencies and facul- 
ties of the human soul created an attachment to their 
own methods so strong, although unconscious, that no 
trial or persuasion, no violence or intimidation, no 
fraud or inducement has ever been able to prevail 
on those people to relinquish them. In their poetry, 
their religion, and their politics the free spirit of the 
Chekli always asserted itself, and would have made 
them as great as they were eminent if annihilation 
had not been adopted as a principle against them. 

The gray gloom of the sixth century annals is relieved 
by the brilliant apparition on the Bohemian horizon 
of the light of a warrior and a statesman. The tribe 
of Wends * supplied the wisdom and vigor of Samo 
to resist the aggressions of the Avars. Tradition has 
conferred on him a Prankish origin. But historic 
narrative even in its weakness is preferable to rumor; 
and Samo was probably one of those Hunyadis, Ziz- 
kas, Cromwells, Washingtons and Garibaldis who 
arise from the broad extent of middle life in ever}'' 

* The people were generally known as Ben-wi dines, or Ben-wini- 
tha. The name Bohemians a century later. 



40 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

country when public need requires the active display 
of their appropriate talents. In every national emer- 
gency some simple John Smith ^n\\\ be found equal to 
the occasion. Samo appears to have been invited into 
Bohemia. Under his direction the enemy were thor- 
oughly repulsed; and Bohemia and Moravia for ever 
rescued from their control, A. D. 623. The Frank 
sovereign demanded obedience as from a vassal; but 
Samo dismissed the ambassador who obtruded himself 
into his presence in Slav costume. A. D. 630. War 
ensued and Dagobert suffered defeat. In the follow- 
ing year Dagobert abdicated. The empire established 
by Samo fell to pieces at his death in A. D. 662; and 
only the central portion, — Bohemia and Moravia, re- 
mained true to his memory.* 

* The narrative of Fredegarius, to whom we are indebted for these 
details, derives more than an appearance of probability from the fact 
that he recounts Frank misfortunes. Some French writers throw a 
shade of doubt upon his record; but it is accepted by eminent author- 
ities without question. 



CHAPTER IV. 

BOHEMIA ASSUMES A PLACE AMONG NATIONS. 

The barbarous and vindictive destruction of Bohe- 
mian literature in 1414, m 1547, and again more terri- 
bly after the battle of Bila Hora in 1620, yet to be 
narrated, deprived the world of ni'an}^ most precious 
records of a period when human progress exhibited 
its most interesting efforts. Among the fragments 
that have descended to us is one referred to the eighth 
century entitled the "Judgment of Libussa. " This 
poetic composition, much amplified in details, repre- 
sents the convocation of the national council and court 
to decide the quarrel of two brothers who contended 
for a patrimonial estate. Libussa, who seems to have 
occupied a position somewhat similar to that of the 
judges in Israel, is represented as dispatching her 
messengers to assemble her faithful Kmets, Lekhs 
and Vladykas in national deliberation , and also to sum- 
mon the contestants personally — Chrudos and Stahlav 
before the supreme council. The Lekhs and Vladykas 
assemble in the Vysehrad; each takes his place ac- 
cording to his age. The princess enters robed in 
white, and is seated on her father's throne in the midst 
of the solemn conclave. Beside her stand two holy 
maids versed in the knowledge of laws divine; one 
holds the tables of the law, and the other the sword 
that strikes the guilty. Before them burns the flame 
that symbols purification, and at their feet is the water 

41 



42 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

that testifies of innocence, and ablution from guilt.* 
The princess states her message: "My faithful 
Kmets, Lekhs and Vladykas decide between these 
two brothers who are in contention for the inheritance 
of their father. After the law of gods immortalt they 
ought to possess in common, or divide in equal por- 
tions. Kmets, Lekhs and Vladykas confirm my judg- 
ment if just it seem to you; but if it seem not just, 
then pronounce another sentence, and terminate these 
brothers' quarrel." 

The historical value of this composition consists in 
its exhibition of a political condition long established 
before the eighth century. It became a classic among 
the Chekh and forcibly expresses the settled laws, 
customs and constitution of Bohemia. It proclaimed, 
preserved, and enforced the rights sovereign in the 
hands of a free, vigorous population. It denotes a rec- 
ognized throne, an established public law, the pre- 
eminence of the legislature above the crown; and the 
final appeal to the united expression of the law of the 
land as supreme above both. The Chronicle of Dale- 
mil, a production of a much later date, also refers at 
length to this famous council. The Bohemians in all 
ages most stoutly contended for those rights and that 
free system set forth in both these poems; and their 
constant claims in all political changes were based 
on the same hereditary system which these works ac- 
curately picture. 

* Here fire and water are employed in their primitive character as 
symbolic agents possessing active remedial potency — as we would em- 
ploy them at this day Men had not yet descended to the coarse per- 
version of this idea in the barbarous ordeal by fire and water of later 
ages. 

f This expression can only mean "according to eternal principles of 
equity": gods did not always refer to beings. Principles were deities. 



ASSUMES A PLACE AMONG NATIONS 43 

Libussa was prevailed on, according to the Chron- 
icle, to search for a consort whose capacity for self- 
assertion would relieve the throne from further peril of 
contempt for woman's weakness. The expedient of dis- 
covering the needed personage by means of the instinct 
of a horse, saddled but without bridle, dismissed un- 
der the mysterious guidance of the god of fate, 
breathes out a living confidence in ante-christian de- 
votion. The horse still continued the representative 
of the old cherubic worship among the Germans and 
other tribes further to the East.* The horse was the 
emblem of Saxon cherubic preference long after the 
reason for it had ceased to operate on the steppes; 
and rheir ancestors had introduced that cultus with 
them. The figure of a white horse presented by the 
bare chalkof the Dorsetshire Hills still attests the 
force of Saxon admiration for this symbol, sacred in 
ancient and loved by every manly soul in modern days. 

In this instance the horse proved to be as successful 
as marriage intermediaries usually are, and more fortu- 
nate than the principals in marriage protocols and diplo- 
macijss frequently prove themselves to be. The charm- 
ing epic presents to Libussa the person of her future 
lord, a simple proprietor named Premysl (Przemysl) ; 
and their union was the establishment on the Bohemian 
throne of a long dynasty of vigorous princes who 
ruled with uncontested prerogative until A. D. 1306. 
It may be that the perspicacity of Libussa discovered 
the sterling qualities that distinguished her husband 
even under the guise of a modest landholder. Though 
a simple "country gentleman" not Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella in their best days exceeded Libussa and Premysl 

* A white horse is the symbol of some German princes to this day. 
King Alfred of England bore it. 



44 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in the wisdom and success of their united adminis- 
tration. The rising ground overlooking what is now 
the site of Prague, where the Hradschin (Hradcany) 
stands, formed a sufficiently elevated and inviting po- 
sition for the royal residence; and may have furnished 
the name of the Bohemian capital. 

From the demise of the first Premysl to the tenth 
century the memory of the people had preserved the 
names of Nezamysl, Mnata, Wojen, Unislav, Kreso- 
mysl, and Neklan as the direct successors of the 
founder of the dynasty. The reign of the last named 
duke was turbulent; and an opponent named Vlatis-- 
lav fiercely contested for chief power. But Neklan' s 
general Cestmir overthrew Vlatislav; and although 
the hero died of his wounds on the battlefield, Neklan 
transmitted his authority in his own line. The names 
of Hostivit and Borivoj, the first Christian prince, 
close the list to about A. D. 894." The establishment 
of this dynasty corresponded to the era of Pepin and 
Charles Martel in France ; and it was an age of he- 
roes. 

Only occasional notices in obscure writers refer to 
the Bohemian people. The tribes that then occupied 
the territories now known as Mecklenburg, Servia, 
Croatia, Moravia, Poland, Saxony, Bavaria and the 
surrounding regions were engaged in frequent con- 
tests. The alliances and feuds that grew out of the 
general confusion are dimly alluded to; and were as 
changeable as the evanescent purposes which created 
them. The contentions with Poland lasted the longest 
and produced the most pernicious consequences, be- 
cause there was most to be fought for. 

The Frank frontier was perpetually in danger and 
not seldom was violated; and the boundaries of Den- 



ASSUMES A PLACE AMONG NATIONS 45 

mark, at that time more widely extended than at 
present, were not sacred from the effects of the rival- 
ries of dukes, and the reclamations of cattle herders. 
All were equally independent and unforgiving; and 
haughty words provoked retaliation. The danger to 
his empire from the proximity of such troublesome 
neighbors early attracted the attention and concentrated 
the armies of Charlemagne, The quarrels between 
the Obodriti and the Saxons induced the former to 
appeal to Charles for protection. So completely did 
this prince secure their confidence that they became 
his faithful allies and fought valiantly in his ranks. 
In return for this service Charles in the year A. D. 
789, led an expedition in person against the Veliti, 
who had made themselves especially the enemies of 
the Obodriti. Charles threw two bridges over the 
Elbe, fortified them, and advanced into the heart of 
the country. As he approached the capital the aged 
Duke Dragovit finding himself powerless to resist, 
submitted in open field to the conqueror; paid tribute, 
delivered hostages for his obedience, and his people 
gave proof of the lesson they had learned. 

But Charles was not contented with this success. 
The year A. D. 791 saw three armies in motion for 
the punishment or subjugation of the Avars in Mora- 
via and Hungary. The first army commanded by 
Pepin, son of Charles, and by the dukes of Istria and 
Friulia, advanced toward the south into Pannonia. 
The second army under Charles himself, mar-ched to 
the Danube; while the third, with the Saxons and 
Frisians under Theodoric and Meginfried, penetrated 
into Bohemia. The purpose of this division of force 
is clear. The Bohemians were suspected of being 
more than allies of the Avars, and if they were they 



4-6 HJS TO RY OF B O HE MIA 

probably had good reason to be, and the Frank troops 
were dispatched through their country to create a di- 
version, while the other forces destroyed Pannonia. In 
this expedition Bohemia remained but little injured; 
and her pride probably found expression in some re- 
prisals which became the pretext for further aggres- 
sions on the part of Charlemagne, crowned emperor 
of the West at Rome, December 25th, A. D. 800. 
Great preparations were carried forward for the' total 
subjugation of the only independent state that now 
remained on the eastern border of Germany. The new 
latin emperor considered himself insecure so long as 
a single small principalit}' remained which had never 
acknowledged fealty to a stranger. 

'Natio Slavorum, studio satis aspera belli, 
Quos Bohemos vocitant, in se levitate procaci 
Irritans Francos Caroli commoverat iram." 

Saxo. Chron. IX. Cent, 

Had any more definite cause of offense existed, 
Eginhard may well be expectd to have stated it. 
Charles had become the servant of the church, but he 
failed to perceive his own degradation in being con- 
verted into a military executioner under the orders of 
a hierarchy. 

Warlike preparations lasted until the summer of A. 
D. 805. In that year three great hosts were precipi- 
tated upon Bohemia. Charles was now too far ad- 
vanced in life to take the field in person. One of these 
divisions commanded by Adolph and Werner advanced 
by Taus (Domazlice) the second under prince Charles 
marched from the Rhine to theEgger; while the third 
composed of Franks, Saxons and North Slavs, directed 
their march to the Saal and the Elbe, and on their 
way overwhelmed the Miliceni under their duke. 





Early Bohemian Art. 



ASSUMES A PLACE AMONG NATIONS 47 

Semil. Still a fourth army was conveyed by the fleet 
up the Elbe to Magdeburg, and were ordered to hold 
the Vileti in check and prevent all assistance to the 
Bohemians, Prince Charles besieged Kaadan; and 
subsequently all three hosts effected a junction at the 
Egger. 

The Bohemians, whose sturdy valor had been thus 
dreadfully complimented, were not prepared for so 
mighty an irruption; and they were totally unable 
to resist it. Their prowess formed the theme of denun- 
ciation at the imperial court; and the apprehensions 
created by a few had magnified their numbers in the 
imagination of terrified courtiers. The people fled to 
the wilds and mountains; and carried on a guerrilla 
warfare. A chieftain named Bech met his death in 
one of these petty encounters; and a few forts resisted 
with success. The Prankish swords won laurels against 
the unresisting. Trees and vegetables succumbed be- 
fore the valor of the invaders. For forty days a furi- 
ous contest was carried on against grass and shrubs. 
The appetite of the invaders triumphed over grain and 
fruits; their chargers pranced over every green thing. 
The open plains were thoroughly humbled, and lay 
still and prostrate; but the men never sued for peace, 
never promised even the superscription on a coin, as 
tribute; and no hostage or the offer of one gave proof 
of the submissive spirit of Bohemia.* 

Violent retaliation might be expected, and it came, 
French settlements felt the weight of Bohemian hands, 
and the terrible fury of Bohemian misery; and again 

* Sed Slavi invia et saltus penetrantes, se minime ad pugnam pra2- 
paraverunt. Vastata autem per XL. dies eadem regione, duceni 
eorum Bechonem occidit. Et dum nee jam pabula eqiiis, aut cibaria 
exercitui super'assent vastata et ad nihilum redacta jam dicta regione, 
at propria reversus est. Eginhard Ann. Mett. 



48 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the Christian emperor issued his commands and a 
new host obeyed his summons. Again the destroyer 
wasted the land, and rash resistance was smitten 
down. Miliduch, a Sorbian prince, fell in fight; his 
territory yielded a paltry remuneration to the con- 
queror; but Charles found that the Bohemians refused 
to starve so long as French villages possessed plenty. 
The imposition of a tribute upon the nation, and the 
alleged consent to pay it by the reigning duke may 
help to explain the civil war between Neklan and 
Vlatislav alluded to above. Possibly the more fiery 
noble disdained what he deemed the pusillanimity of 
his prince. The only account remaining to us of the 
imposition of tribute is contained in the Life of 
Charlemagne by Eginhard.* 

No proof exists that any tribute was ever paid. 

During the long reign of twenty-six years enjoyed 
by Louis the Pious, the Bohemians had repose. 
They found in this prince a counselor of whom they 
stood in need, and an umpire in their domestic con- 
tentions. A. D. 814 to 840, The German historian, 
Muller, does not claim more than "a sort of dependent 
relation" to the Carlovingian dynasty on the part of 
the Premysls. 

* Vita Kar, M. "Barbaras ac f eras nationes ita perdomuit ut eas 
tributarias efficeret; inter quas fere pracipuas sunt Welatabi, Sorabi, 
Boemanni, cumhisnamque conflixit." These words contain no proof 
or even assertion; but only an inference. The "charta divisionis 
imperii" gives the Bohemians to Ludwig but apparently it was 
Pepin who fixed the tribute. "Pipinus legem instituit ut annuatim 
Imperatorum successoribus CXX boves electos, et D, Marcassolva- 
mus." This decree refers to the future. Cosmas II, iig. 

The people at that time were well acquainted with the use of 
Silos; a practice which is of recent importation among ourselves giv- 
ing rise to the term ensilage. The French borrowed it from Algeria. 



CHAPTER V. 

DIVISION OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE; AND WAR WITH LOUIS 
THE PIOUS. 

While these "transient marks of obedience tempted 
the French historian to extend the empire of Charle- 
magne to the Baltic and the Vistula, "in the words of 
Edward Gibbon, the success of the Emperor over the 
Avars of Moravia was more decisive and enduring. 
In a contest of eight years the entire nobility of the 
Huns perished. Not a vestige of human habitation 
attested the recent prosperity; the seat of royalty of 
the Chagan or Shogoon* was totally extirpated; and 
the treasures amassed in two hundred years, largely 
acquired by the conveyance of the commerce of the 
East to the north and west of Europe, thus breaking 
the old traffic through France, gratified the rapacity, 
or flattered the sectarian vanity of the conquerors. 
The Franks had by this time united the ferocity of 
intolerance to their native combativeness ; and the 
union of the two impelled their swords as much against 
a belief that they did not understand, as against a 
neighboring dominion which was not a menace to 
their country. 

The theocratical relation between the empire and 
the church — the former securing and guarding the 

* A word still retained in Japan although lost in China. 

49 



50 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

interests of the church with the sword, and the latter 
consecrating the rapacity that extended its sway and 
slaughtered its opponents, — received its first great real- 
ization under Charlemagne. Though broken down 
under his sons, the same spirit revived on the consol- 
idation of the new authority that became established 
in the former seat of power of the Shogoon. The 
whole land from the Ems to the Raab was wrested 
from the Avars, who perished as a people. Charles 
constituted this region an Avarian viceroyalty; and 
Bavarians — a people of an allied and mixed race were 
planted there as a garrison of colonists. The territory 
was annexed to the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg; 
and became the germ of the Austrian empire. 

The remnant oi native society in Moravia soon con- 
stituted itself "a body politic" under Mojmir, a man of 
more than ordinary spirit and intelligence. The Frank 
borders were threatened by a brief period of resistance 
in Pannonia under Lendevil — 818-823; and the Bulgar- 
ians exhibited some restiveness in 827-829. But Moj- 
mir consolidated his power; and held pre-eminence 
even over Bohemia. His rival, Brivina, fled over the 
Danube, where he was entertained by Louis the Pious, 
was persuaded to accept baptism, and assigned a lieu- 
tenancy in Lower Pannonia ; A. D. 830. As early 
as 836 we find an organized Christian establishment at 
Olmiitz (Olomouc) where Archbishop Adalran presid- 
ed; and some nobles and others accepted the general 
creed of Christendom. The patronage of Louis, and 
the tendencies of public thought under his influence, 
induced a few of the border lords to relinquish further 
opposition to the doctrines of two empires ; and on the 
first of January, A. D. 845, fourteen Lechs and their 
retainers accepted baptism as an evidence of the 



DIVISION OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE 51 

friendship they had proffered to Louis during the 
previous year.* 

By the treaty of Verdun in 843, between Lothaire 
and his brothers, the empire was divided into three 
portions: Italy, France, and Germany. The dividing 
line between French and German was thus created. 
The last was assigned to Lewis the German, Thus 
the idea of a Christian empire was destroyed for- 
ever; and mankind became divided into nations. 
The Romance people and the German people gradu- 
ally crystallized into separate shapes; and the same 
process went on in the far East of Europe also, but 
more slowly, and in a more fragmentary form. The 
direct line of Charlemagne first became extinct in 
Italy. Lothaire, Lewis II, and Lothaire II, had all 
died before 870; and in the convention of Mersen, 
the empire was again partitioned between Charles 
the Bald and Lewis the German. The latter monarch 
reigned until 876; but the division of his territories 
among his sons threatened ruin anew to all alike. 

Lewis had paid much attention to the administra- 
tion of his territories; and the independent position 
assumed by Mojmir in Moravia attracted his notice. 
Proceeding thither with an armed force in 846, Lewis 
deposed Mojmir and established his nephew, Rastis- 
lav, as duke of Moravia. Returning through Moravia, 
Lewis attempted to avail himself of the friendship of 
the converted Lechs whose territories lay on the 
border. But the nobles and landholders of Bohemia 
regarded his march as a hostile invasion of their 

* "Hludowicus 14 ex ducibus Boemanorum cum hominihus suis 
Christianam religionem desiderantes suscepit; et in octavis theophan- 
iae baptizari jussit." The orders of the monarch seem to have sup- 
plied sufficient preparation to the neophytes. Rud. Fuld. Ann. I. 
364. 



52 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

country; attacked and destroyed his army; and Lewis 
himself narrowly escaped being made prisoner, A. D. 
846. His entire equipment was seized by the -vic- 
tors. 

Lewis determined to avenge his disgrace, and the 
years 847 and 848 witnessed a renewed attempt against 
Bohemia. A diversion into Bavaria appears to have 
distracted the king's purposes; and nothing beyond 
some skirmishes ensued. But in the following year, 
849, a formidable force was despatched against the 
unyielding enemy. Lewis being too ill to take com- 
mand, entrusted the expedition to duke Einst. Thak- 
ulph, margrave on the Sorbian frontier, and the chief 
nobles of Germany swelled the invading ranks with their 
retainers. The ensuing battle was fierce, and the Bo- 
hemians seemed on the point of defeat. In this con- 
juncture they sent a flag of truce, as we should ex- 
press it, to Thakulph who was seriously wounded, pre- 
ferring to treat with him as an officer well acquainted 
with their language and customs. During the confer- 
ence some German leaders secretly took the offensive 
against the inactive Bohemians. The breach of the 
laws of war stimulated the fiery hearts of the Chekh. 
In desperate fury they returned the assault; broke the 
ranks of their enemy; pursued them to their camp, 
won the entrenchments, and the German host was 
crushed completely. All the military supplies were 
taken; and the invaders surrendered their spears and 
arrows to the victors. This humiliating defeat pro- 
duced a deep sensation through the whole of Germany.* 

The incursions of the Normans on the Baltic coast, 
and famine and pestilence in Germany compelled 

* Rud. Fuld. Ann, I. 366. Prud. Tree. Ann. I. 444. AnnalesXan- 
tenses II, 229, 



DIVISION OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE 53 

Lewis to make peace with Bohemia. The Serbians 
felt the weight of his anger; and the waste of their 
fields effected what the sword could not accomplish* 

In Moravia more serious events ensued. Rastislav 
effected an alliance with the Bulgarians, and also with 
Constantinople. Lewis attempted to reduce his disobe- 
dient vassal; and in A. D. 855 a German army entered 
Moravia. But the spirit of the invaders indicated the 
sinking fortunes of the royal house. The intrench- 
ments were assaulted in vain ; and only serious Ger- 
man losses marked the conduct of the expedition. 
Rastislav indemnified himself by the plunder of the 
trans-danubian principality. f 

This period marked the retrogression of the Carlo- 
vingian dynasty. Lewis was unable to punish the Sor- 
bians who restored Slavitah, a Bohemian lord, dis- 
possessed by the Bavarians, and Rastislav naturally 
sustained them. Carloman, son of Lewis who gov- 
erned Carinthia, formed an alliance with Rastislav 
against Lewis, 861-863; ^.nd Lewis, the younger, 
effected the complete disruption of the ro)^al house 
in A. D. 866. Henceforward the union of the Slavs 
against the Germans became the paramount political 
sentiment of all the families of Slav descent; of whom 
the Chehk in Bohemia formed the strongest and most 
compact section at this period. 

* Perditis frugibus, et omni spe victis adempta magis eos fame 
quara ferro perdomuit. Rud. Fuld. L. C. P. 367. 

f Rex, Hludovicus Slaves Marahenses contra Rastizen parem pros- 
pere ducto exercitu, sine victoria rediit. Rastiz cum suis insecutus 
plurima trans Danuvium finitimorum loca prasdando vastavit. Rud. 
Fuld. I. 369. 



CHAPTER VI. 

SEPARATION OF THE EASTERN AND WESTERN CHURCHES 
AND ITS RELATION TO BOHEMIA. WAR WITH GERMANY. 

The epoch on which we have now entered was 
marked by the momentous divergence of the eastern 
empire from the western, both in civil and in eccle- 
siastical polity. The retrospect of past religious dis- 
sensions is always distasteful and seldom profitable; 
but a brief review of those that present themselves 
cannot here be avoided ; for the history of Bohemia 
henceforward is largely, if not chiefly affected by the 
result of that divergence. 

The western church, having been separated from 
the state, struggled to establish itself first as an equal, 
then as an independent, and finally as a paramount 
authority. The great name of Rome was still asso- 
ciated with a portentous majesty; and as civil 
strength declined, and the reign of belief became es- 
tablished, doctrines required submission in proportion 
as edicts ceased to circulate. Faith upreared its head 
in hope where law had ruled in reason; and a subtle 
transfer of allegiance from the scepter to the miter 
was effected. 

The opening of the ninth century was distinguished 
by the contests that raged over the maintenance or 
the rejection of images. The Latin church energet- 
ically sustained them but with many notable excep- 
tions; the Greek patriarchs general!}'- rejected them 

54 



IVAJ? WITH GERMANY 55 

with disdain. Leo, the Armenian, being exasperated 
by the spirit of irreconcilable contention that men- 
aced him from the west, utterly destroyed the im- 
ages, and adopted severe proceedings against their 
worshipers. 

In 824, Michael, surnamed Balbus, despatched an 
embassy to Louis the Pious on the subject of images, 
with a request for the emperor's aid in resisting the 
intrigue presented at Rome against the peace of the 
east by tlie Pope of Rome as the chief adviser of the 
image worshipers. 

The succeeding emperor Theophilus had been imbued 
with a horror of images; and by his orders they were 
removed from the churches and destroyed. 

Other and more mysterious sources of discussion 
troubled Chrfstendom on the subject of the details of 
doctrine. Did the Holy Spirit proceed from the 
Father alone; or from the Father and the Son; or 
from the Father by the Son; or how? 

The Latins adopted the second of these principles; 
the Greeks with equal emphasis claimed that the last 
expression alone was consistent with a salutary the- 
ory. Claims of more practical and tangible character 
were encountered in the demand for the restoration 
to the Roman See of the churches of Apulia, the rev- 
enues of Calabria and Sicily and the extension of its 
authority over Bulgaria. The treatise attributed to 
Charlemagne, but prepared probably by Alcuin, is 
conclusive demonstration of very extensive and au- 
thorative rejection of the recent additions to Chris- 
tian cultus. The decisions of the Council of Aix la- 
Chapelle; under the direct supervision of Charlemagne ; 
and the openly declared authority of the churchmen 
who surrounded him produced a profound impression; 



56 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

more especially as the doctrines of the Roman prelate 
appeared largely to dep2nd on the admission or re- 
jection of his claims to the Italian and Greek prov- 
inces which formed much of the ground of his contro- 
versy. Thus the contest assumed at once a theolog- 
ical and a national character. The established con- 
victions of the Greeks, and the unity of their empire 
combined to concentrate the feelings of the people in 
hostility to all the pretensions of Rome. Basil the 
Macedonian, and the patriarch Ignatius, repudiated 
all concession on the subject of Bulgaria, a Greek 
Slavonic province. An archbishop was consecrated 
for that country; the Latin clergy were expelled; and 
in defiance of Pope John VIII, Bulgaria was perma- 
nently attached to the Greek communion. 

At the critical moment when the contest concerning 
images was at its height embassadors arrived from 
Moravia sent by Rastislav to the Greek court. The 
real purpose of the embassy was to seek assistance 
against Lewis the German, with the double purpose 
of resisting the civil and ecclesiastical intrusion of 
the Germans. No proposal could have been more 
welcome. The court advisers selected, in reply to the 
theological portion of the embassy, two Greeks, na- 
tives of Thessalonica, brothers acquainted with the 
Slavonian language and known as Cyril and Meth- 
odius. The former really bore the name of Constan- 
tine; but according to ancient custom adopted the 
religious name of Cyril. He was an educated man cf 
philosophical temper. Methodius was by occupation 
a painter. Both were imbued with the theological 
and national sentiments then uppermost in all Greek 
minds; and both became active propagators of Chris- 
tian formularies in Moravia, and also in Bult^'arid, D.'.l- 



JVAJ? WITH GERMANY 57 

matia and Croatia. They speedily incurred the en- 
mity of the German ecclesiastics. A school was estab- 
lished at Vitvar, and churches erected at Briinn and 
Olmutz. The preparation of books became necessary; 
and as the Slavonian was yet unwritten the brothers 
were compelled to introduce a substantially new al- 
phabet by a suitable modification of an old one by the 
admission of Armenian and other elements. This 
Cyrillian alphabet superseded in Moravia, is still 
employed in Servia and Bulgaria and forms the chief 
basis of the Russian.* These excellent men were in- 
defatigable. They introduced Christianity under their 
form both in doctrine and ritual into Bohemia; and 
laid the foundation of those religious and national 
views in opposition to Romano-German influences that 
have peculiarly distinguished Bohemians ever since 
when free to express their principles. The object of 
these apostles was to teach, to encourage intelli- 
gence, to create free service founded on clear appre- 
ciation of the subject, and not to introduce mere cer- 
emonies. The Bohemians have always logically and 
loyally interpreted the spirit of their Greek teachers; 
and extended it to its full development in later times. 
Their influence in the country created displeasure at 
Rome where union with Germany then formed the 
prevailing policy. Especial offense was taken at the 
use of the Slavonian liturgy, which necessarily ex- 
pressed the Greek doctrine and must have discarded 
the controverted words "and from the Son" from the 
creed. The Bohemians even in that day perceived 
attempts made to dispossess them of their own lan- 
guage by the use of another for church formularies, 

* Ginzel "Geschichte der Slawenapostel Cyrill und Methodius." 
Leimeritz, 1857. 



58 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and other public purposes sustained by the Germans. 
Hence they acquired a devoted attachment to the 
Cyrillian liturgy. At length a charge of heresy sum- 
moned both brothers to Rome, Here Cyril died; and 
Methodius became archbishop of Moravia. The Sla- 
vonian language was adhered to; but a German eccle- 
siastic named Wiching became suflragan to Metho- 
dius for the purpose of suppressing the Slavonian lit- 
urgy in time. The passionate attachment of Bohe- 
mians to their language as the living expression at 
once of their origin, their nationalit}^ their independ- 
ence, and of the wide separation of themselves from 
the Latins in principles and in government, con- 
strained their duke, Svatopluk, to address a remon- 
strance to Pope John VHI. on this and other eccle- 
siastical matters. The reply of John VHI. whom we 
have already seen anxious to erase the offending word 
"filioque" from the ritual, is well worthy of reproduc- 
tion here, so far as it touches the subject of Slavonian 
language. "Finally we justly praise the Slavonian 
characters introduced by Constantine the philosopher, 
in which they chant the praises due to God ; and we or 
der that the preaching and works of Christ our God 
be proclaimed in the same language; since we are 
admonished to praise God not in three only but in all 
tongues by the sacred authority which commands, say- 
ing, Praise God, all ye nations and laud him all ye 
peoples; and the Apostles filled with the Holy Spirit 
spake in all tongues the wonderful words of God; 
hence the heavenly trumpet of Paul also resounds, 
admonishing 'Let every tongue confess that our Lord 
Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father,' of 
which matters also he sufficiently and plainly admon- 
ishes us in the first epistle to the Corinthians, tliat, 



IVAJ? WITH GERMANY 59 

speaking with tongues, we may build the church of 
God. Nor is there anything opposed to sound faith 
or doctrine in singing the mass in the same Slavonian 
tongue, or in reading the holy gospel, or the divine 
selections of the Old and New Testament well trans- 
lated and explained; or to sing all the other offices of 
the hours since he who made three principal lan- 
guages, to-wit, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, himself 
created also all the others to his praise and glory." 
Notwithstanding the sound sensie and abundant Scrip- 
ture of this document officially deciding the point 
submitted, the Slavonian liturgy was condemned after 
the death of Methodius. It could not be, however, 
finally suppressed in Moravia and Bohemia until A. 
D. 1094 when the monastery of Sazava, its last asylum, 
was destroyed. 

The introduction of a new tongue and a strange lit- 
urgy gradually supplanted the old doctrine; and while 
the creed was sung at Rome in the ninth century with- 
out the disputed words; while Leo IV. and Benedict 
VIII. directed that it should be recited in Greek; yet 
the opposition of Pope Benedict VIII. was overcome 
by Henry II. of Germany^ — 1014 — and from that time 
the addition "filioque" represented the triumph of 
Frank and German politics over the aspirations and 
national and religious conviction of the Slavs in Mo- 
ravia and Bohemia. But popular attachments cannot 
be extirpated by a conclave, a curia, or a rescript. 
The tastes, beliefs, and sympathies of the people had 
been long established. Resistance to external rule 
became a faith under the old empire; and the senti- 
ment survived dynasties and triumphed over theolo- 
gies. 

During the pendency of the religious discussion 



6o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

above alluded to internal commotions introduced Duke 
Svatopluk to prominence. A chronic condition of war 
continued between Lewis and Rastislav. In 864 the 
latter, temporarily defeated, accepted vassalage. In 
868 war again raged but without result. The year 
following the scene of hostilities changed; and a new 
and formidable antagonist of Lewis appeared in the 
person of Svatopluk, nephew of Rastislav. The Ger- 
man dispatched three armies against his unbending 
opponent; one against the Sorbians commanded by 
Lewis the younger; another under Karloman against 
Svatopluk, and the third under Karl, youngest son of 
Lewis, marched direct against Rastislav's strong in- 
trenchments, wasted and burned everything within 
reach, but failed to shake the firmness or effect any 
feat of arms against his antagonist who held his lines 
unharmed. But soon afterward Svatopluk placed him- 
self under the protection of Karloman; and Rastislav 
in wrath endeavored to ensnare and arrest him. Svat- 
opluk was warned, and in turn entrapped his uncle, 
who was sent in chains to Lewis. The great Moravian 
was deprived eventually of his eyes and immured in 
a cloister. In order to strengthen himself, Svatopluk 
formed an alliance with Bohemia in 871. But Lewis 
again took the field and the Chekh were defeated in 
872 and their country greatly wasted. Svatopluk suc- 
ceeded in Moravia; invaded Karloman's dominions; 
and reduced him to such extremity that he called on 
Lewis at Metz* to furnish aid, under a kind of threat 
never to show himself again to his father if it was 

* Hludovicus apud Metes, nuntium accepit, quod, nisi citissimo 
filio suo Carlomanno in marchia contra Wendos subveniret ilium ul- 
terius non videret. Qui statim ad Reginsburg perveniens per missos 
sues Wendos mode quo potuit sibi reconciliavit. Hincmar Reim. I. 
496. 



WAJi WITH GERMANY . 6i 

not furnished. Lewis concluded a truce at Regensberg 
with the victors. Svatopluk's sword and the efforts 
of Methodius combined effected a religious revolution 
in Bohemia. Boriwoj, the reigning duke, and his 
duchess, Ludmila, accepted baptism and the Greek 
rite was established through the country A. D 871, 
The first church structure erected by Boriwoj was St. 
Clement's, a short distance north of Prague; and a 
church of St. Clement occupies the same site to this 
day. In the same year in which Methodius died, A. 
D. 885, April 6, Svatopluk stood at the height of his 
greatness. His young kingdom extended from the 
Danube to the borders of Carinthia and Pannonia, 
where Duke Arnulph ruled; and prosperity seemed 
assured. In 887 Arnulph was chosen emperor; and 
in 895 died Boriwoj, duke of Bohemia. His sons, 
Spityhnev and Rastislav, appealed for aid to Arnulph 
against Mojmir, son of Svatopluk. Arnulph was 
crowned at Rome in 896; but died in 899 as was sus- 
pected of Italian poison. In the same year we find 
the Bohemians and Moravians combined and engaged 
in an invasion of Moravia, probably in imperial in- 
terest. But a new terror speedily extinguished the 
small animosities of principalities and compelled 
united Christendom to arouse itself. Arnulph had 
unwisely invited the Magyars to lend him aid against 
Moravia, and in the year 899 a dreadful host of these 
invaders swept across the eastern frontier of Ger- 
many. Defeat followed defeat, and these new destroy- 
ers speedily reached Saxony and Lorraine. The king, 
Lewis the child, was reduced to a tributary; and all 
was disaster and confusion. The Magyars, — a branch 
of the Ugrian or Ungrian Turks, marched north as 
far as Bremen; but soon returned to south German)', 



62 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

A victory at Passau in 913, hardly created a check. 
Conrad, the new emperor, effected nothing; and soon 
died— 918. Henry of Saxony, surnamed the Fowler, 
restored union; and was enabled to consolidate his 
empire. The Ungrians had found an unexpected ally 
in Vratislav, the son of Ludmila of Bohemia, who 
had renounced Christianity. He married Drahomira, 
a princess of the Havelli, who instituted a massacre 
of Christians. Ludmila with her son Vaclav, known 
afterward as St. Wenceslaus, fled to Henry; and 
Wenceslaus on doing homage was recognized by Hen- 
ry as duke of Bohemia, according to some German 
historians; but the accepted fact is that Ludmila was 
murdered by her daughter-in-law Drahomira' s order, 
A. D. 927. Ludmila was strangled with her own veil 
at Tetin whither she had retired to live in seclusion. 
Native historians represent Spityhnev and Vratislav 
as pious princes whose devotion was displayed by the 
erection of church edifices at Prague, Budweis, 
(Budejovice) and elsewhere. The years 912 and 926 are 
set down as the date of their demise respectively. 
Vratislav had been educated by his grandmother Lud- 
mila in his earlier years; and imbibed not only his 
religious principles from her precepts, but inherited 
much of her personal disposition, as is usually the 
case with grandchildren. During Drahomira's regency, 
Henry of Germany had inflicted severe losses on the 
Slav tribes of the lower Danube, and reduced them 
to vassalage to the Empire. Henry's son Thankmar 
had been insulted in Bohemia by some of the queen 
regent's followers; war necessarily followed, and Henry 
appeared before Prague in 928. Wenceslaus had 
undertaken the government though still a minor of 
20; and he was compelled to submit to a yearly trib- 



WAJ? WITH GERMANY 63 

ute of 500 marks of silver, and 120 head of oxen, 
and to do homage as a vassal. Wenceslaus was a de- 
vout prince. He built and endowed churches in all 
parts of his dominions; read the Slavonian Scriptures; 
fed and clothed the poor; protected widows and or- 
phans; ransomed priests when made prisoners; ad- 
ministered justice- with strict impartiality; and with 
his own hands reaped and harvested the wheat, and 
gathered the grapes requisite for the bread and wine of 
the communion. These memorials are interesting on 
account of the suggestions they afford of the doctrin- 
al status of the church in Bohemia in the tenth cen- 
tury. Wenceslaus fell under the fratricidal sword of 
his brother Boleslav in 935; and Drahomira fled to 
Croatia. Churches were erected in honor of the de- 
ceased prince; his portrait was stamped on the coin, 
engraved on the seals, and emblazoned on the stand- 
ards of his country; his memory is held in respectful 
veneration. But the spirit of self abasement spread 
from the cloister through the country; and for the first 
time Bohemia abandoned a courageous self-assertion 
under the imaginative, dreamy and dependent spirit of 
Wenceslaus. 

Otto, elected Emperor A. D. gig, despatched an 
army of Saxons and Thuringians under command of 
Count Esech against Boleslav. But the latter was 
victorious; and after his success proceeded to punish 
the mutinous noble who had invited German interfer- 
ence. In the year following — g38, Otto marched 
against Bohemia again with a more formidable force; 
and the reduction of Boleslav to the condition of a 
vassal spread great joy through Germany, where the 
frequent successes of the Slav uprisings had produced 
a feeling of insecurity during the years that this war 



64 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lasted. In 946 Boleslav gave hostages for his submis- 
sion. But the year 950 again witnessed strife. Young 
Boleslav was besieged in Prague; promised the yearly 
tribute imposed on his brother, and soon afterwards 
the common danger from the Magj^ars united all the 
forces of Christendom. On the loth of August, 955, 
southwest of Augsburg was fought the great and de- 
cisive battle that decided the fate of Germany, and 
humbled the Magyars for ever. The Bohemian con- 
tingent and the Suabians were hard pressed by a sud- 
den assault; but Duke Conrad restored the fight; the 
Turkish camp was stormed; and although thousands 
fell in very direction, yet the losses seemed hardly 
to diminish the numbers of the vanquished multitude, 
A subsequent series of engagements with the Bohe- 
mians under Boleslav in person, crushed the hopes of 
the Magyars. Lehil, their chief, was made prisoner; 
and his followers, with sullen content accepted the 
settlements in Hungary they had already won. 

The marriage of the Bohemian princess Dubravka 
with Miecislav, duke of Poland in 965, introduced 
Greek Christianity into the latter country. The Polish 
prince and many of his people were baptized by a Bo- 
hemian pope in 966; and Dubravka journeyed to Po- 
land with an imposing retinue. Boleslav died in 
967; and although his reign was inaugurated with 
fratricidal violence, his temper was greatly needed 
in the pressing emergencies of the times; and he 
must be allowed to have added much to his country's 
greatness. 

The irruption of the Magyar invaders in the reign 
of Spitigniev, destroyed the empire of Moravia; and 
from this period the fortunes of the two principalities 
were united under one government. The Bohemian 



JVJJ? WITH GERMANY . 65 

authority at this epoch extended northeast to the 
heart of Silesia and Poland; southeast to the neigh- 
borhood of Kiew in Russia. Moravia proper and White 
Croatia were Bohemian provinces. Boleslav was 
obeyed on both sides of the Carpathians, and over the 
Bug to Podlachia. But these limits were ill-defined; 
and advanced or receded with a battle or an incursion. 
A. D. 967 Boleslav II. surnamed the Pious succeeded 
to the dukedom; and his duchess Emma is supposed 
to have been daughter of Conrad of Burgundy. The 
first care of this prince was for the establishment of 
ecclesiastical authority over Bohemia in the hands of 
a resident bishop. Very early in the reign of this 
prince, Milada, his sister, journeyed to Rome, ("incer- 
tum cujus consilio" says Stransky) and returned to 
Bohemia an avowed supporter of the Latin rite. The 
princess v/as the bearer of a bull from Pope John XIII. 
on the subject of the disuse of the existing Greek cer- 
emonial, and the introduction of the Latin form. 
From this event is dated the beginning of religious 
strife in Bohemia; A. D 967. Boleslav having re- 
ceived the pope's letter, assembled the christian 
chiefs in council; and having explained that missive 
declared his intention to establish the Roman ceremo- 
nial under a bishop of that communion. Boleslav 
added some instructions to the chieftains before him 
to follow his example within their own jurisdiction. 
Forthwith murmurs arose; and as was probably in- 
tended, there was a divided sentiment. Some were 
influenced by respect for the prince and his sister; 
but the greater number protested against the innova- 
tion as opposed to the order and rite established by 
Cyril and Methodius. But Boleslav persisted; and 
a compromise smoothed the difficulty for a time. 



66 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Henceforward three religious systems struggled for 
freedom or pre-eminence. The old Paganism still pre- 
vailed in a few localities. The nobles who frequented 
the German court chiefly affected the Latin rite. 
But the body of the people clung affectionately to 
their Greek forms.* After some consultation on the 
subject a slight difficulty presented itself in the exist- 
ing dependency of Bohemia on the see of Ratisbon. 
But Wolfgan, bishop of that see, surrendered his au- 
thority; and a Saxon monk named Ditmar, skilled in 
the Bohemian language, and also "multum in aula 
earns," was selected as first bishop. 

On the death of Otto in 973, Henry H. of Bavaria 
named "the contentious," asserted his claims to the 
Empire against Otto H; and Miecislav of Poland, his 
brother-in-law, and Boleslav of Bohemia, united their 
forces in his aid. But Otto proved too strong. The 
following year Boleslav and Otto concluded peace 
which was not afterward violated. 

Bishop Ditmar died in 982; and the snem (landtag) 

assembled, as the ancient and unquestioned guardian 

of public authority in domestic affairsf for the election 

of a successor. Vojtech of the house of Slavnik, a 

Bohemian, of the ancient possessors of Chekh lineage 

was selected. As the Emperor was then in Italy in- 

* Grseci ritus sacra tenaciter servabat, Stransky ch. VI. § IV. The 
inducement to the Princess Maada or Mary is seen in the fact that 
she returned with the office of abbess of a new convent of Benedictine 
nuns. Pope John's words confirm Stransky, "Veruntamen non 
secundum ritus aut Sectse Bulgarise Gentis, vel Russiae, aut Slavoni- 
cselinguje." Gold. Act. Pub. IV. 

f Slaveni et Antae non uni parent viro; sed ab antiquo in populari 
imperio {ev SrjUOHpaTeia) vitam agunt. Procop De Bell. Goth., 1., 
III., p. 498. 

His omnibus qui communiter Lintici vocantur dominus specialiter 
non praesidet uUus; unanimi consilio ad placitum suimet necessariae 
discutientes, in rebus efficiendis omnes concordant. Thittmar, Mer- 
seb, ap, Pertz. V. 812. 



WAR WITH GERMANY 67 

vestiture of staff and ring was then performed by Otto 
in person. Adalbert, as Vojtech now styled himself, 
made strong efforts to supplant the Slavonic ritual in 
Bohemia and Hungary. He was not sufficiently na- 
tional in sentiment to suit the tastes of Bohemians; 
and he took a virule.nt part in an endeavor then becom- 
ing general to abolish clerical marriage, and estab- 
lish rigid celibacy, contrary to the well established 
Greek principles and customs of Bohemia. In 989 
he retired to Rome and entered a Benedictine monas- 
tery. Adalbert returned on the invitation of Boleslav 
and established a similar institution in Bohemia; but 
these proceedings created such strong resentment that 
he retired' again. A few years later having wandered 
among the tribes of Prussia, he met a violent death 
for a trespass on sacred ground. The see was filled 
by Christian, and very soon afterward by Thiddag* 
who preserved his episcopate twenty years. A. D, 
998. 

/Boleslav died A. D 999. His eldest son was al- 
ready dead, childless. Boleslav H. succeeded; but 
the unsettled principles of succession filled the country 
with confusion and rendered the government of the 
Prem5'sls during two centuries a long succession of 
uncertainty and frequently of disaster. 

Scarcely had Boleslav II. ceased to breathe when 

* Thiddag is the same as Theodatus, called also Medicus Saxo. 
He is reported to have been indebted for his see to his skill as a 
necromantic physician; and to have cured Bolislaus I., of paralysis by 
a bath of wine, herbs, and spices and three living black puppies four 
weeks old Paulini, Dissert. Hist., p. ig8. 

Other practitioners of the healing art as understood at that period 
were not so fortunate; as shown by the instance of Faricius. abbot of 
Abingdon, who was elected to the see of Canterbury; but was refused 
consecration for the reason that his profession made him acquainted 
with feminine physiology, a kind of knowledge held in holy but not in 
practical horror by the monks and clergy of that — or any other age. 
De. Abbat. Abendon. Chron. Abingdon H. 287. 



68 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Boleslav of Poland surnamed Chrobry or the Brave, 
besieged Cracow, as being a fortress naturally apper- 
taining to that dukedom. The Bohemians attempted 
to relieve the place; but were defeated and Cracow 
became henceforth a Polish possession. With the 
loss of this fortress the prestige of Bohemian arms re- 
ceived a serious blow; and the outer principalities 
speedily loosened all connection with the government 
of Prague. Within a year all the fruits of the valor 
of the first Boleslav had been reft away; and the duke- 
dom was reduced to Bohemia proper. 

Boleslav II, if violent, was brave and skillful; and 
his vigor was feared and respected. The third Bo- 
leslav, named Rufus, inherited apparently only the 
cruel element of his father's character without its man- 
liness. The barbarous violence practiced toward his 
brothers drove them and their mother Emma, to the 
Court of Henry of Bavaria, and the results of these ex- 
cesses were soon apparent in the increased favor 
shown to Boleslav Chrcbry by the imperial court.* 
The augmentation of Polish power was accomplished 
at the expense of Bohemia; and Boleslav Chrobry 
reigned at least as titular lord paramount from the 
Baltic to the Danube. But discontent in Bohemia 
gradually assumed the proportions of open revolt ; and 
the powerful nobles of the Vrsovici encouraged and 
assisted Vladiwoj, brother of the reigning duke of 
Poland in aspiring to the crown of Bohemia. Bo- 
leslav was compelled to flee with all speed. Henry, 
markgraf of east Franconia afforded temporary shelter; 

* Bohemiorum dux Bolezlaus, — Cognomento Rufus, impietatib 
auctor immensae quia potestas consortis et successoris est semper 
pavida Jaremirum fratrem eunuchizans, junioremque Othelricum in 
thermis suffocate capieas una cum matre eosdem patrije expulit 
Thittmar, Merseb, 1. V., p. 793. 



IVAJ^ WITH GERMANY 69 

but the fugitive eventually withdrew to Schweinfurt 
on the Main. Chrcbr}' endeavored to prevent um- 
brage being taken at the increase of power now ob- 
tained by his house b}' submissive promises to Henry 
11. But court favor was not long required. Vladiwoj 
reigned but one month, and died in the beginning of 
A, D. 1003. Jaromir succeeded to the throne of Bo 
hemia and was received with joy. But Boleslav Rufus 
contrived to obtain the aid of Chrobr)*; and the lat- 
ter reinstated Rufus in Bohemia, while Jaromir a sec- 
ond time found himself an exile. Boleslav Rufus had 
"learned nothing and forgotten nothing." Scarcely 
did he find himself "at home again" than he exhibited 
the implacability of his temper. Ash Wednesday A. 
D. 1003 while the population at large were engaged 
in their observance of the day, Boleslav treacherously 
invited many of the most prominent persons around 
him; and especially the Vrsovici who had proved 
themselves his opponents, and murdered them in cold 
blood; — himself stabbing his own son-in-law, one of 
the Vrsovici, through the body with his dagger. The 
Bohemians had probably lost their old spirit; and 
now they apealed for aid to Boleslav who had left a 
force of Polish troops in support of Rufus. Chrobry 
instantl}' perceiving an opportunity for effecting his 
meditated union of all the Slavs under his scepter, 
removed Boleslav to Poland where he died a few years 
subsequently. Chrobry took possession of the strong 
places in Bohemia where his Polish garrisons were 
already established. But Henry asserted claims also 
on the part of the empire; and sent ambassadors to 
Chrobry to signify that war would necessarily ensue 
if he persisted in his pretensions. Chrobry imper- 
iously refused vassalage; fortified all the strong places 



70 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

on his western frontier; and concluded a treaty with 
Hezilo of East Franconia, and other German lords 
hostile to Henry. But the latter were soon routed by 
the Germans; and Hezilo compelled to take refuge 
with Chrobry. The Poles have never been gentle mas- 
ters, either in Moscow or in Prague; and they earned 
the fierce hatred of the Bohemians at this time. The 
banished princes were now regretted. Boleslav had 
not the qualifications of Cromwell in being either na- 
tive born or supremely successful. In 1004 Henry 
assembled an army in Saxony, Thuringia, and Fran- 
conia; sent his fleet up the Elbe to assail Poland, and 
marched across the Erzegibirge into Bohemia. Jaromir 
and Ulrich led the van of the invaders; and Henry 
became another Monk* in the eyes of the Bohemians. 
The tones of Jaromir's summons sufficed to blow open 
the gates of a frontier fortress; and Henry secured 
a safe entry by this convenient Berwick into the heart 
of the country. Boleslav was completely surprised. 
His flank was turned; and he hastened toward Prague 
to encounter his enemy. In the mean time Ulrich 
made himself master of Drevis, another strong place; 
and advancing thence, made a dash against Prague. 
Ulrich stationed himself on the bridge. A blast of a 
huntsman's horn was the signal agreed on for the gateF 
to be opened. The Polish guard discovered the as- 
sailants and a sharp fight ensued on the bridge, Sobe- 
bor, the Polish captain fell; and Ulrich and his three 
hundred galloped into the town. Other successes were 
also announced; and Boleslav took to flight. In a 
few days the Polish power melted completely away 
and Jaromir "had his own again." 

In the following year 1005 war again broke out with 
* The v^drspov TTporspov here may be excusable. 



WAJi WITH GERMANY 71 

Poland; but success varied and Henry made peace 
with Boleslav who retained all his conquests except 
Bohemia and Lusatia. During several years the Po- 
lish prince offered inducements to Jaromir to con- 
clude a close alliance; but past experience and the 
inextinguishable hatred of the Chekh nobility prevent- 
ed success. Jaromir continued the steady ally of Ger- 
many during the years of even the ill success of Henry. 
This prince was physically weak but honest, though 
of but moderate understanding. His brother Ulrich 
(Oldrich) was the Constantine of the family, strong and 
self-willed. He well represented the rugged charac- 
teristics of the Przemysls ; and his daring soul aspired 
to freedom from subordination. By a bold ccup (T 
etat Ulrich seized the throne; and Jaromir was com- 
pelled a third time to avail himself of the shelter 
afforded by neighbors to political refugees. Both 
brothers referred their quarrel to Henry; but they 
-were eventually imprisoned. 

Ulrich's first wife was childless; but his second 
whom he espoused, presumably from dynastic neces- 
sity, to all appearance without the formality of a di- 
vorce, became the mother of Bretislav whom all Bo- 
hemia accepted as the legitimate inheritor of ducal 
rights, 1014. 

In the year 1039 the cultivation of Slavonic litera- 
ture received marked encouragement from Bretislav. 

The Greek religious foundation of Sazawa was ex- 
tended in influence and enlarged in accommodation; 
and continued for nearly sixty years to be the chief seat 
of native thought and learning in Bohemia. But it 
was also, and to the same extent, an obj ect of jealousy, 
as the principal impediment to the leavening process 
which constituted the sole and the insidious policy at 
that period of Germany and Rome. 



CHAPTER VII. 

INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA, 

Having presented the history of Bohemia briefly in 
die preceding pages during a period of about one 
thousand years, let us now endeavor to study the do- 
mestic, social, and industrial life of the several classes 
of the inhabitants during the same period. As among 
all nomads the head of each family was the chief per- 
son, and his humble residence sheltered his imme- 
diate family relations. 

As the rude cottage was found too small additions 
were made until the aggregation formed a village of 
itself. The family swelled into a tribe. Such vil- 
liages became numerous; and each householder or occu- 
pant of the complex structure, at once house and -vil- 
lage, possessed his plot of ground as his individual 
share of the common property. The community was 
regulated by the united voice of the heads of houses, 
under the chief direction of the elders. When the 
founder of the village had died, and the number of 
families and houses formed a village spreading, as 
peace prevailed, over a larger space, and cultivating a 
wider surface of the common patrimony, the custom 
became established, as in all village systems, of elect- 
ing or appointing one person to superintend the gen- 
eral interests of the whole community. This person 
was named a "vladyka". He had the general super- 
vision as public steward; and was removed for neglect 
or inefficiency. He might be one of the younger mem- 
bers ; or of the older. He purchased and sold; and 
looked after the individual as well as the general in- 
terests of hi^ village. These vladykas always formed 

73 



INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA 73 

an essential and the most numerous component of the 
general council or Snem (landtag); and each was the 
recognized representative of his village therein. The 
duke himself was only a vladyka of the entire people. "* 

The chief leaders of the Chekh on their arrival es- 
tablished a pre-eminence of dignity in their own direct 
descendants. These chieftains— kmets,— -who were 
all extensive landholders, formed a select council; 
and exercised the functions of a co-ordinate branch 
of the government. Between these nobles and the 
vladykas was a second order, whose members styled 
iechs were independent proprietors of estates. They 
constituted a kind of military class and always furn- 
ished the best officers in every emergency. These 
classes had the right to be present and take part in 
the great council of the nation without question from 
any man. These three orders suggest the recollection 
of the division of society prescribed by the Institutes 
of Menu; and may be referred to the Indo-Caucasian 
origin of the Slavs. The same principle may be dis- 
covered in the recognition of military rank as confer- 
ring a title to a share in the deliberations of the na 
tional assembly, in the well known writ of King John 
of England who summoned "quatuor discretos milites" 
as representatives of their county. 

This system of government by the whole people as 
it stood is the form universally approved by the Slav 
nations; and is a full illustration of the realization of 
the dream of Pericles; f and still more clearly by Ath- 

* "Quamdiu igitur Czechus in vivis fuit aeconomicusfuit in repub. 
Bojemse magis quam regius principatus." Stransky. 

f '"oi'o//a i-ikv , Sid TO IJ.V £? ^oXi'yovZ dXl^ H TtXsi ova^' 
oiHEiv 8rjnoHf)aTid uexXijTai meredrt Si Hard jutv ro?;? 
vojuovi Ttpoi rd t'Sia did$op Tcddi to h(3ov xcxTd ds tijv 
a%w6iv oj E^HadToi ev tco EvdoHi/xei. Thucydides II, 37. 



74 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

enagoras of Syracuse, where the functions of the sep- 
arate orders of a complete democracy are specifically 
defined.* 

To the same general effect Isokrates holds that 
special recognition ought to be rendered to men whose 
possessions, opportunities, and education enable them 
to devote more time, means and advantages of social 
training to the public service. 

The memory of these principles had undoubtedly 
descended to the Greeks as a member of that great 
Aryan family who have given not only laws and in- 
stitutions but the spirit of development and progress 
to the whole modern world. f The poetry of Greece 
and especially the Iliad and Odyssey, and the history 
of Teutonic and Slavonian peoples generally are re- 
plete with illustrations of the prevalence of the same 
sentiment; — that society is properly constituted in gen- 

* kyc£) 8i cprjiJLv itpoora jukv Sr/juov ^vjuvcav go v6f.iadBai 
oXiyapxiocv dk juepo?, Eiteira (pvXaxai juev ^api'drovi eivai 
XpTjf-idvGov Tovi TtXovdiOV?, fdovXevdat d^av fJeXrtdra Tovi 
^vvsrov?, upi'vai S^oHv ^axovdavrai dpidrarovi tcoWovS 
nai raucoc o/uoiooi uai Hard jusp^j nai ^vjHTrdvra ir d?/juo- 
Hparia 'tdojuoipsiv. 

f The affinity between the Greeks and Slavs ascertained by the 
researches of Bergmann and Mullendorf affords another link in the 
chain that connects the political philosophy of Greek statesmen with 
the practical life of the Slavs of Bohemia. "They were then" says 
Mr. Georges Perrot "in spite of many apparent differences of lang- 
uage, customs and civilization, nearly related to the Greeks; and this 
kinship perhaps contributed without the knowledge of either Greeks 
or barbarians to facilitate the relations between Hellenes and Scythi- 
ans." The agricultural Slavs of -the Dnieper, the immediate kin of 
the Chekh, were no doubt the agricultural Scythians of Herodotus. 



INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA 75 

tie undulations, and is nowhere to be dominated by 
precipitous impending authority. The manners of 
the ancient Germans are abundantly described by 
Tacitus* as expressing the free suffrages of the whole 
people in the selection of the most suitable counsellors 
in peace and generals in war. The Bohemian consti- 
tution reflects these principles as by a mirror. The 
possession of captives taken in war introduced a modi- 
fied slavery; but at no time did the abhorrent system 
adopted by the brutal Romans prevail among Slavs. 
"Those persons who are held in captivity among them, " 
says the Emperor Mauricius,"]' ''are not retained in ser- 
vitude for all time, as among other nations. But a 
certain period is fixed by agreement of the parties, 
within which they are allowed to return to their friends 
on payment of the stipulated sum, or they remain 
afterward free and friendly with their former masters." 
Agriculture formed the principal industry of the Slav 
races. The fields have peopled their heaven with 
deified farmers. As among ourselves enforced servi- 

* Reges ex nobilitate; duces ex virtute sumunt; nee regibus infinita 
aut libera potestas, et duces exemplo potius quam imperio: De 
minoribus rebus principes consultant; de majoribus omnes. Mox 
rex vel princeps prout setas cuique, prout nobilitas prout decus bell- 
orum, prout facundia est, audiuntur. Centum singulis ex plebi com- 
itis, consilium simul, et auctoritas adsunt! De Morib. Germ. c. 7 — 

The primitive and fundamental democratic life of the Slavonian 
nations is further placed on record by Procopius de Bell. Goth. III. 

14- , ^ 

Id yap eBvrj ravra '2Xa(3f]voi ts xai Avrai ^ovk '^ap- 
Xovrai Ttpoi dvdpoZ kvoi, dXX kv dr^/uoKpaTEia tx itcc- 
Xaiov fSovrevovdi, uai did tovto ^avroii twv Ttpay/.iaToov 
aei td re c,vH(popa ndi za dv6HoXa si hoivov aysrixi. 

The Slavonians and Antae are not ruled by one man but live in a 
democracy, from old time, and for this reason there is a common in- 
terest in all affairs and difficult subjects are managed according to the 
common judgment. 

f Strategic, I. XI. p. 273. 



76 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tude was made the penalty for great crime.* It may 
not be historical that the Garmans borrowed the plough 
from the Slavs, and that pflug is derived from plug. 
Both terms had a common origin in a common mother 
tongue. Unlike modern dwellers in rural districts who 
have become extremely suspicious of strangers in all 
countries, the sociable instincts of oriental cultivators 
were hospitable even to the point of permitting the 
unasked removal of provision requisite for the enter- 
tainment of a guest. They had the virtues and the 
failings of primitive men. They were scrupulous in 
observing formal promises. f Marriage had become 
an institution most highly respected ; and the fidelity 
of wives was a most conspicuous feature in the domes- 
tic life of this latter period, as it had been of the 
Teutonic women described by Tacitus. The survival 
of the husband by the wife accompanied by the immo- 
lation of the widow reminds us of the Suttee of India; 
and may form another trace of the Indo-Caucasian 
lineage oftheChekh.| War was the same then as now. 
To lie concealed under the water for hours breathing 
through a reed, is not more barbarous, though it may 
be less scientific, than to despatch a torpedo through 
the water to destroy a thousand lives. The man is 
the torpedo in the former case. During the centuries 

* The Monasteries and the Jews made profit from these descriptions 
of forced labor in later times. "Propter quod captivos et mancipia 
Christianorum quos mercator Jiidasus infelici auro emerat " Vita St. 
Adalb. Pertz VL 586. The Spaniards sold thousands of Jews and 
Moors into perpetual slavery at the very period our story has reached; 
and the Austrians sold many thousands of Bohemians into sla\'ery as 
late as 1628. 

f Servant sua pacta Bohemi et truces. Gens hand spernenda 
Bohemi; quoted by Stransky Repub. Boh. Chap. IV. 

X The "three rivers" crossed by the Chekh appear to have been 
east of the Volga. '2KXaf5i]vov '^edvoi ro TCepQcOev vov Iprpov 
of Suidas seems conclusive. 



INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA 77 

preceding German supremacy agriculture and cattle 
engaged the chief attention of the Bohemians. Wheat 
and horses form.ed a large part of their export; and 
the Russian conqueror, Svatoslav, — A. D. 964-972, — 
who wished to establish his capital at Pereiaslaf on 
the Danube writes regarding it : "This place is the 
central point of m)' possessions; and abounds in 
wealth. From Greece come precious stuffs, wine, 
gold, and all kinds of fruit; from the country of the 
Tcheques and Hungarians horses and silver; from 
Russia money, furs, wax, and slaves." Long previous 
to this period silk had been in use to some extent in 
Bohemia; and v^^e find Libussa described as reclining 
on a couch with a silk coverlid.* 

Gold was procured from the Bohemian mines until 
the 15th century. Iron v/as mined in sufficient quan- 
tity and of the best description, and was fashioned 
not only into ploughshares and sickles, but into swords 
and spears and heavy battle axes, or rather maces, 
helmets, cuirasses, and greaves. All the ordinary 
trades both of smelting metal and of wood work were 
well known, though implements were rude; and the 
arts of the goldsmith and the engraver had made pro- 
gress. Beryl, amethyst, emerald, sapphire, jasper, 
and some fresh water pearlsf furnished more or less 
employment and profit; while copper, tin, lead and 
aluminum as well as silver yielded wealth and fostered 
art and skill. 

The political situation in Bohemia being organized 
on the foundation of associated village communities 
with a pre-eminence of rank conceded to the wealthier 

* Ingressus cubile quod solum habuit, tulit inde sericum pulvinar. 
Vita St. Adalb. , ap Treher p, 77. 

f Stransky, Rep. Boj., ch. I. 



78 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

individual proprietors the result was necessarily re- 
publican in essential character. A special summons 
to individuals was issued; and such was in all proba- 
bility the earliest mode of issuing writs of parliament* 
The elevation of the first Premysl was a concession 
to the choice of Libussa; and the "prince consort" be- 
came an associate in the government. The earliest 
laws consisted of the customs and accepted rules ex- 
isting chiefly in the daily habits of the people. Until 
the twelfth century few written laws existed; such as 
there were found sufficient expression in runic char- 
acters; and the improvement by Cyril and Methodius 
laid the necessary foundation for a more extensive 
vocabulary, and precise legal definitions in subjects 
of advancing civilization above the primitive common 
law of the people. Formal compilations were subse- 
quently made and preserved; the first printed in one 
volume by Briccius of Zlitsca. A more satisfactory 
compilation appeared in 1569; and still another under 
Maximilian in 1579 published by authority of the es- 
tates. The statutes enacted by the estates composed 
of the great nobles as a kind of senate or aula regia, 
and the Kmets, Lechs, and Vladykas constituted the 
governing rule ; and each duke on his election was 
required to constitute himself by oath,t as he had 
been already nominated as chief executive of the nation. 
No Bohemian prince ever thought of claiming the 
chief power by right of inheritance alone. 

Tliat the soil was owned by individual inheritance 

* See instances of individuals being summoned under Athelstan. 
Kemble, Saxons in England II. 202. 

f Stransky; ch. V. § 8. Rep. Boj. Still more emphatically § 25: — 
Quod Barones, nobiles, et etiam civitates et tota communitas Regni 
Bojemiae ex sua libera et bona voluntate, juxta libertates illius regni 
elegerunt se in Regem Bojemiae, non ex aliquo debito" — quoting the 
coronation oath. 



INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA 79 

and not by feudal tenure except in a very few cases 
is universally conceded.* The exceptions were not of 
Chekh origin; and were practically of no account. 
Each man possessed the right to fish, hawk, and hunt 
on his own land, and there was not a shadow be- 
tween him and heaven on the subject. No tax, tithe or 
impost could be levied except by the consent of the 
estates. In the election of prince, agef held first place; 
but the younger was often the public choice in a time 
of pressing emergency. | 

The military system of the Slavs was far inferior to 
that of the Romans. A shield, helmet, and coat of 
mail probably of leather or hide protected the sol- 
dier; and a sword, spear, mace, club with a ball slung 
at the end, and a lariat constituted the offensive weap- 
ons. Each landholder served at his own expense; and 
wars in those days were extremely destructive of life. 
Fortresses consisted of circles of palisades, strongly 
built and with one narrow entrance. In time castles 
of wood, and about the twelfth century of stone were 
raised on eminences defended by natural position. 
The standards of Bohemia were long preserved in the 
ancient fortress of Vysehrad; and the national colors 

* Bona illorum tota Bojemia pleraque omnia heredetaria sunt seu 
allodalia; perpauca feudalia. Stransky. ch. XI. §, 3. 

f The election of the late emperor Nicholas instead of his brother 
Constantine was strictly in conformity with the principles in the text, 
and is explained by it. 

\ In Bohemia as in Ireland, Scotland and elsewhere a remnant of 
an ancient sacred pillar, regarded with profound veneration long after 
its original symbolism had died, was preserved until A. D. 1142; and 
probably much later. The Sid Fail of the Irish and the Stone of 
Destiny at Scone and still in the coronation chair at Westminster all 
had similar origin. This pillar stone was the original whence the 
Greek .2r?/A?/, the obelisk and the spire were descended. See for the 
Sacredness of the Bohemian stone Ven. Chron., in Dobner. Monu. 

I. 34. 



8o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

have been white and scarlet since the first establish- 
ment of knighthood among them. 

The Bohemians were and are a practical people and 
have always regarded religion, as they have regarded 
other things, in the light of its application to the act- 
ual education of the intelligence as the immortal soil 
from whose cultivation all moral, social and political 
food must be derived, directly at least. That which 
contradicts plain reason cannot be true to the under- 
standing, and must be inconsistent with the right di- 
rection of the tastes and feelings. 

The development of the divine principle here enun- 
ciated, both in religion and politics, constitutes the 
great drama that Bohemian history presents to the 
world. To uphold this principle in their public life, 
they have fought with great and noble determination 
for a thousand years and more. To uphold that prin- 
ciple in religion the Bohemians endured for centuries 
more dreadful tyranny than any other people known 
to mankind. They were the objective point of mighty 
crusades, they were the victims selected for immo- 
lation on the teocalli of bloody sacrifice when the 
bleeding heart of the nation was torn out from the 
still palpitating body by the high priests of the Mo- 
loch of intolerance. 'My son give me thine heart," 
received an infernal application of perverted significa- 
tion. 

At the period whereon we have now entered the 
policy of Rome to subjugate all couniries who accepted 
her peculiar communion !:y means of a common tongue 
— the Latin, had been definitely inaugurated. This 
was the language of prescription and authority, al- 
though not one syllable of the New Testament doc- 
trine had been written in it by any one of the writers 



INTERNAL POLITY OF BOHEMIA 8i 

of that volume. It does not appear that any apostle 
was ever acquainted with Latin. Jesus Christ spoke 
in Syriac and no other. By means of Latin a means 
of communication was at once established between the 
ecclesiastics of all Latin countries, although the Latin 
itself had long ceased to be a speech. For this pur- 
pose it was employed in all religious ceremonious ob- 
servances. It acquired a sacred character, all the more 
because it was dead. Through this language the entire 
power of the hierarchy could be concentrated. Nec- 
essarily a contest arose in every locality where as in 
Bohemia and in Ireland Greek religion, philosophy 
and civilization had acquired strong footing. In Bo- 
hemia this process was allied with a Germanizing en- 
croachment that rendered it doubly hateful to the 
great majority of the nation. It was the symbol of 
alliance with aliens and oppressors. But while it was 
forced upon the churches in public service it never 
became the speech of the people even in religion. 
Latin was the language of religious pomp; German 
of state ceremonial; but the affections of the people 
for their dead were always poured forth in their heart 
language, their own native speech of love and sorrow. 
They communed with each other around their deceased 
kindred in the phrases that moved their lives; and 
thus the native speech became a binding link be- 
tween themselves and that heaven where they believed 
their departed rejoiced in the same familiar speech.* 
But this combination constituted a direct violation 

* In templis SermoniTeutonico plebes docent; in cemeteriis Bohe- 
mico." ^neas Sylvius Hist. Boh., c. I. The encroachments are 
clearly shown by the same writer Germ., c. 47. "Intra ecclesias Teii- 
tonico tantum sermone instruere populum sacerdotibus permissiim 
est." Thus the church service was in Latin; the preaching in Ger- 
man; but the people clung to the Slavonic. "In cemeteriis autem 
Slavonico" says the same writer. 



82 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of the compact between Svatopluk and Pope John 
VIII. The abolition of the Slavonian liturgy, how- 
ever, gradually concealed the changes in the Greek 
creed that could be introduced in no other way. The 
people did not understand one syllable of the Latin. 
But a secret distrust first and then a hatred of the in- 
novations rankled in the hearts of the Bohemians : and 
this distrust deepened with years. Silently this con- 
trariety was maintained; and eventually Bohemia be- 
came known in the eleventh and twelfth centuries as 
the abode of persons not really affiliated with Rome; 
and willing to welcome persons who sympathized with 
Bohemian feelings for similar reasons. During those 
centuries Bohemia became noiselessly a place of ref- 
uge for many such from other places. 

At that period Rome was still far from possessing 
unobstructed dominion, religious or otherwise, even in 
Italy. In France large populations exhibited a spirit 
and a philosophy strongly at variance with her teach- 
ing. Constantinople was still strong; and her nam.e, 
her power and her literature reigned paramount in the 
regions surrounding Bohemia, except on the side of 
Germany. Manj^ of Rome's prcminent doctrines were 
still repudiated even within her own borders; and exten- 
sive opposition to her alleged novelties occupied the re- 
ligious and learned discussions of Europe. The pop- 
ulations with whom Bohemia traded, sympathized 
with her resistance to Rome; and when persecution 
arose in France and along the Rhine, at Cologne, at 
Metz, Strasburg, Languedoc and elsewhere, the silent 
sympathy of Bohemia attracted the homeless and the 
conscientious. The Slavonian mind, lineage, and na- 
tionality loathed the alien Jatinity, partly insinuated, 
partly forced on them from Germany and Rome. Bo- 
hemia never was Roman and never will be. 



INTERNA L POLITY OF B O HE MI A 83 

In addition to the foregoing considerations the prin 
ciple and the example of a married clergy established 
by the Greek communion exhibited to the minds of 
the people a dangerous contrast between the social 
condition of the clergy as it existed and as it was 
threatened to be made. The law of celibacy was de- 
nounced in all co»intries, and strenuously resisted in 
eastern Europe. Essentially vulgar when founded 
on assumptions of superior holiness, it introduced 
some new, and aggravated many former evils. The es- 
sential conditions of humanity cannot possibly be im- 
pure; and a compliance with them is not only in per- 
fect harmony with the highest law of our being, but 
is the perfection of that being itself. The deprivation 
of domestic experience and of the cultivation of all 
the virtues that can only be nurtured in domestic and 
family life leaves the celibate, man and woman, des- 
titute of the loftiest and most purifying culture that 
human nature is capable of. Without these virtues 
in active exercise, and without that elevation of char- 
acter which they confer, and which nothing else can 
supply, the unmarried man or woman is maimed in 
education, and defective in moral training. Many 
parents — let us hope most parents, have been elevated 
to a rank of Christian patience, tenderness, emotion, 
and resignation, as well as self-sacrificing devotion of 
which the celibate can know nothing. To deprive a 
man or woman of the opportunity to be virtuous in a 
direction in which other people are virtuous, and to 
call that man or woman more virtuous for that reason, 
is equivalent to cutting off a limb and then asserting 
that the mangled remainder is more effective as a 
body. Numerous councils had already complained 
severely of the intemperate, immoral, and .scandalous 



84 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lives of bishops and clergy under the law of celibacy. 
Bishop Adalbert's denunciations of a married clergy 
formed the chief reason for his enforced retirement 
from Prague. The clergy not of Bohemia only but 
of all Slavonian countries, of Lombardy, of Naples, 
of Germany had always claimed the right of 
marriage. Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg — contempo- 
rary of Cyril and Methodius, contrasted the vices of 
the celibate with the quiet uomestic lives of the mar- 
ried clergy. The Bohemians contended that St. Peter, 
still an apostle, was a married man; and that St. 
Paul claimed the right to have a "wife that is a be- 
liever, even as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas, 
and the rest of the apostles."* This Greek principle 
had become the universal practice in Bohemia. Such 
was the general condition of the country at the period 
we have reached ; and sufficient political, religious and 
national fuel existed for a tedious and cruel conflagra- 
tion when the torch of the destroyer should be applied. 

* I Cor. IX. Revised version. The corruption of Paul's phrase 
"aSf'A^?/ ;^i}j'77 literally a wife wtio is a sister to mean a sister to min- 
ister to him without being a wife is so unscholarly that only a desper- 
ate cause could suggest it. Paul's meaning is that a church member 
should marry only a church member. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV ADMINISTRATION OF BOHE- 
MIA STRICTLY NATIVE AND LOCAL, 

The decease of Henry II. of Germany, July 24, 
and of Boleslav Chrabary in June of the year follow- 
ing, produced results of the most momentous impor- 
tance to Bohemia, Duke Ulrich could not avoid tak- 
ing part in the election of Conrad the Frank, as he 
owed his throne to the interposition of Germany; and 
he probably did not foresee the consequences to his 
country that his act involved. Boleslav was suc- 
ceeded by Miecislav 11. surnamed the Idle, who af- 
forded anothsr of the many instances of the manly 
energy in the father being followed by incompe- 
tence in the son; an illustration perhaps of the 
operation of human instincts, unconsciously seek- 
ing alliances in marriage with persons of the oppo- 
site character, and producing generally beneficent re- 
sults in maintaining the equilibrium of the human 
species. 

. Betzprem, another son of Chrobry, supposing him- 
self aggrieved by the accession of Miecislav, or claim- 
ing a portion of the Polish dominions on the fatal 
principle of partition, took refuge with Stephen, King 
of Hungary, his uncle. In 1026 Stephen began war, 
and devastated the territories of Miecislav not only be- 
tween the Danube and the Carpathians but all through 
Moravia itself. On the other hand Conrad powerfully 



86 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

assisted the prince of Poland. The years 1028, 
1029 and 1030 witnessed dreadful devastation of the 
regions in dispute ; but the result was favorable to 
Stephen ; and the Hungarians held Moravia as well 
as the other conquered territories. The removal of 
Chrabry by death, and the distraction of Poland by 
the events just named, afforded Bohemia an oppor- 
tunity to recover her lost Moravian provinces. For 
this purpose a powerful force was placed under com- 
mand of Ulrich's son, Bretislav, a young man of great 
energy and abilit}^, and the hope of his country. 
Sweeping like a whirlwind over Moravia, Bretislav 
ever3^where defeated and expelled the Hungarians 
who had created a wilderness where they found a 
garden. Public edifices of all descriptions had been 
destroyed. Every monument of civilized life in Mo- 
ravia had been broken up ; nothing remained but mis- 
ery and ruin. During this terrible period the Greek 
churches erected by Cyril were torn down, and even 
their site obliterated. Books and memorials of all 
kinds of Bohemian culture were searched out for de- 
struction ; and an utter termination put to the most 
interesting and beautiful period of Moravian history. 
Bretislav devoted large estates to the erection and 
maintenance of religious and educational establish- 
ments. Churches were built again but on the Roman 
model. Greek literature disappeared. The Bohemian 
commander recompensed his officers with extensive 
possessions in the reconquered country. Zupans, or 
Castellans, were appointed to maintain order, and ex- 
ercise local authority ; and Marquisates created for 
the special observation and defense of the border dis- 
tricts. The year 1030 witnessed war again between 
Kaisar Conrad and Stephen of Hungary. Young Bra- 



THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV 87 

tislav took part in this war against his father's will; 
but to the great satisfaction of the Emperor. Ulrich 
and Bretislav were not reconciled for several years; 
and the prince seems to have devoted himself to friend- 
ly and affectionate ministrations to his fugitive uncle, 
Jaromir. 

In the meantime Conrad interpreted the demeanor 
of Ulrich during the last war with Hungary as an in- 
dication of hostility; and summoned him to his court. 
The duke paid no attention; but appears to have pre- 
sented himself under compulsion at Regensburg in 
1033. The Emperor ordered a partition of Bohemia 
between Ulrich and Jaromir; and the former was dis- 
missed on promise of compliance. But no sooner did 
he find himself at a distance than he disavowed the 
entire proceedings as duress; had his brother Jaromir 
blinded ; banished his son from Moravia and set the 
emperor at defiance. Bretislav retired to Henry, 
duks of Bavaria, who raised an army and restored 
him. Conrad was too much occupied by other serious 
events to devote his whole time to Bohemia ; and 
Ulrich continued independent or contumacious until 
his death in 1037. On this event happening, Jaromir 
and Bretislav returned to Prague, the former from his 
residence at Lysa, and the latter from his principal- 
ity. The unsighted Jaromir, in the presence of all 
the assembled estates of the country, formally installed 
Bretislav on the ducal throne after the usual and an- 
cient formalities of election. 

The accession of Bretislav constitutes the com- 
mencement of a new era in the history of Bohemia. 
This prince possessed a splendid presence and great 
qualities. He was a fierce and formidable warrior 
and eminently judicious and temperate in civil admin- 



8 8 HIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

istration. Full of energy, and of a sound perspica- 
cious judgment, he knew the value of discretion as 
well as vigor] and he is justly known as the Restorer 
of Bohemia. 

The circumstances of the period were favorable to 
the projects formed by Bretislav. Miecislav of Poland 
had died in 1034, and much confusion and civil strife 
reigned in that country. King Stephen of Hungary 
was dead; and his successor not yet established in 
power; and Conrad was much occupied by the con- 
tentions in Germany respecting the hereditary tenures 
of the tenants of the nobles whom he wished to depress 
by making their sub-feudatories permanent owners of 
their estates; and by the resistance created by a com- 
bination in Italy of which Aribert of Milan was ac- 
cused of being the leader. This latter chieftain es- 
tablished a precedent of the gravest importance, in 
arming the citizens of Milan and conferring on them 
a formal code of laws, and a military organization. 
This proceeding formed the kernel of that system of 
free citizenship which revived the municipal spirit of 
old Rome still latent in Milan and many other cities, 
and became the animating spirit of all Italian and 
many other European communities during several cen- 
turies; — gave rise in fact, to the S3^stem of communes 
and municipalities which distingishes modern life, 
and constitutes the most progressive though the most 
difficult portion of practical government.* 

* It is not here forgotten that Spanish municipal institutions arose 
from the requirements of the moment in the necessity created for a 
system of order in each locaUty as the Moors were gradually driven 
back; and showed the readiness ofmen in adopting regularity of self- 
government as the occasion arises. The Spaniards, like others, need- 
ed only to be let alone; every man being like Figaro ' persuade q'un 
grand nous fait assez de bien, quand il ne nous fait pas de mal " 
Barb, de Sev. 



THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV 89 

Poland felt the first effects of the ambition of Bre- 
tislav. The country was in fact defenseless; the 
factions were engaged in constant strife, and hated 
each other more than the invaders. Cracow and the 
other strong places were speedily reduced. Treasures 
were seized and carried off; churches were rifled and 
their valuables removed; and the mouldering remains 
of Saint Adalbert, esteemed of more value to Poland 
than knowledge, valor, and patriotism all combined, 
were eagerly coveted by the conquerors to confer a 
safety on Bohemia such as had begun to be dreamed 
of since the religious philosophy of Cyril and Method- 
ius had been banished. The plunder and the corpse 
were accorded a splendid triumphal procession into 
Prague, where bishops' croziers, altar cloths blazing 
with gold and precious stones, were accorded the 
honors of public veneration as on the occasion of a 
national victory. 

The very year of these occurrences — 1039, Conrad 
died; and his son and successor, Henry III, viewed 
the proceedings of Bretislav in Poland as of more im- 
portance than the simple larceny of a corpse. Not 
being under any personal obligation to the Bohemian 
duke, Henry regarded the invasion of Poland as a 
very serious disturbing influence on the eastern border 
of the empire; and fortunately Henry's great quali- 
ties, unlike those of Bretislav in this instance, had 
not been corrupted by any education that could lead 
him to regard a skeleton as a tutelary divinity. Pope 
Benedict IX. affected much indignation at the profa- 
nation of the Polish churches, while his bishops were 
in possession of the plundered pictures and relics; 
and it was the policy of the papacy to sustain the 
empire. While still in the heart of Poland, Bretislav 



go HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

heard of the preparations against him; and at once 
offered to pay the tribute formally imposed, — of one 
hundred and twenty oxen, and five hundred marks of 
silver; but stoutly retused to surrender the Polish 
provinces or return the treasure or the saint. He sent 
his son, Spityhnev, to Henry, as pledge of his good 
intentions. 

In the following year, 1040, two German armies 
crossed the frontier ; one under the Kaisar's direct 
command by the Boehmerwald, the other under Bardo, 
archbishop of Mayence, and Ekkard Margrave of Meis- 
sen. Bretislav also divided his forces; and having 
the advantage of knowing the ground, he took a strong 
position in the forest; and fortified it with works 
formidable in that period. The Germans here made 
the attack under great disadvantage. Several of their 
most distinguished officers were killed before the in- 
trenchments ; and after two days' fighting, the Em- 
peror was forced to retire, leaving a large number of 
his men dead, and many wounded and prisoners. Bre- 
tislav immediately hastened to oppose the invaders on 
the north. Here also his vigor was successful. The 
Germans lost heavily and withdrew in total discom- 
fiture. At the same time Henry restored Spityhnev to 
his father in exchange of prisoners. Henry's prestige 
was in peril; and he determined to avenge his defeat 
and assert his authority. The following year two ar- 
mies still stronger were hurled against Bohemia. 
Guided, it is stated, by a German hermit who had 
long inhabited the Boehmerwald and knew all its in- 
tricacies, the invaders directed their march further 
south where the country presented fewer obstacles. 
Deprived of his natural fortresses, Bretislav could 
make little resistance; and his enemy was speedily 



THE GREA T ERA OF BRETISLA V 91 

in the heart of the country. Bretislav's lieutenant in 
the north, the Zupan Perkos was accused of treach- 
ery in making only a show of defense, and in reality 
of having sold his country. Bretislav was not with- 
out hope, as Prague was strong and well supplied. 
But his prudence came to his aid ; and a composition 
was effected by which he agreed to a tribute for the 
future as well as the payment of the arrears for three 
years past ; to acknowledge the supremacy of the em- 
pire and to surrender the Polish provinces. He suc- 
ceeded in retaining Moravia where he had rights, as 
the two states had long been formally united.* 

The wish for practical independence had long cre- 
ated a desire in the minds of Bohemian rulers for a 
controlling authority in ecclesiastical affairs established 
within Bohemia itself and governed by an archbishop. 
The insidious and undermining influence of alien poli- 
tics exerted through foreign archbishops who controlled 
the bishop of Prague, and introduced into ecclesiastic- 
al dignities persons who confounded individual and 
national feelings, and taught principles foreign to Bo- 
hemian interests and independence even in local affairs, 
had long been found an impediment and an injur}'. 
Alien associations were gradually formed by Bohemian 

* The conclusion of this peace as described by Aventinus — Annal. 
Bojoi., lib. 5, fol. 408 et seq, is so obviously distorted and exaggerated 
that no reliance can be placed on the details he has left. He says 
that not only Spityhnev but his three brothers were surrendered as 
hostages and that the right to execute them was conceded to Henry if 
Bretislav should not adhere to his stipulations. But immediately 
afterwards the preparations made to remove the obstructions in the 
Boehmerwald are described and Bretislav is represented as coming in- 
to Henry's presence "pedibus, lachrimabundus, adoperto capite." 
calceis pedibus detractis corpus humi prosternit." This abject hu- 
miliation was so utterly foreign from the character of Henry and Bre- 
tislav, and so inconsistent with the relations that henceforward con- 
tinued between them that it may be classed among the malignant 
falsifications of history, The younger princes were not surrendered 
to Germany at all; and Spityhnev was restored after the first battle. 



92 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

subjects brought up under foreign influences. Polit- 
ical affiliations were founded, through the intervention 
of church schools, with other powers that possessed 
authority enough with ecclesiastical corporations to 
have men appointed to ruling positions in Bohemia; 
and alien doctrmes and interests were maintained un- 
der cover of allegiance to religious institutions, whose 
chief seat was situated within the dominions of rival 
and frequently hostile governments. A youth taught 
to venerate as an "alma mater" an educational estab- 
lishment, especially if associated with principles of 
religion inculcated as most sacred, whose chief dig- 
nity was derived from an eminence and mayhap a ce- 
lebrity drawn from the attention and generosity of a 
foreign authority, would necessarily yield his heart's 
attachment and devotion to the founders and support- 
ers of the school and the learning that he was taught 
to love; "where his treasure was, there would his 
heart be also." Under such circumstances the incul- 
cation of feelings of dissatisfaction with Bohemian in- 
stitutions and Bohemian laws and rulers would ex- 
press itself in many ways, and always with more or 
less acrimony. Especially would this be the case and 
was the case in Bohemia where the language of the 
people differed essentially from that which had been 
introduced covertly under the guise of sacred litera- 
ture ; and where also the existing liturgy and laws 
that had been handed down from the first teachers 
were assailed as the source of sedition on the one 
hand, and heresy on the other, by the representatives 
of foreign ecclesiastical and political domination. The 
establishment of a local and if possible a native arch- 
episcopate was therefore a most natural desire on the 
part of Bohemian rulers. Whether this policy succeeded 



THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV 93 

as was intended by Bretislav, will be seen hereafter. 

The Pope of Rome affected still to feel indignation 
at the sacrilegious invasion of Polish churches. The 
duke could obtain only the assembling of a synod to 
consider the question: the discussions lasted several 
years; and the affair terminated in the promotion of 
Prague to an arch-episcopal see, after the expenditure 
of large sums for the concession. Bretislav, also felt 
himself obliged perhaps by an express promise to 
atone for his piroceedings in Poland by the creation 
of a new religious foundation ; and the collegiate 
church of Star&. Boleslav (Altbunzlav) owes its origin 
to this circumstance. But Bretislav was a statesman 
as well as a patriot; and his wisdom did not permit 
him to neglect the Slavonian-Greek establishment at 
Sazava. This foundation which still expressed the 
native taste in literature, language, and home feeling 
was richly extended and strengthened A. D. 1053. 

From this period Bohemia and Moravia enjoyed in- 
ternal repose for many years. Bretislav^ indeed, took 
part with Henry III. against Hungary in 1041 in fa- 
vor of King Peter; but after the latter prince suffered 
the barbarous but not unusual calamity among princes 
in that age of being violently deprived of sight, the 
contest was continued against Andreas, the successor 
of Peter ; and although Henry made three expeditions 
thither, his success was not equal to his expectations. 
This contest did not interfere with the quiet progress 
of Bohemia in wealth and prosperity. The internal 
administration was conducted with constant care, and 
much judgment and ability. Every department felt 
the presence of a mastermind ; and the justice and firm 
rule of Bretislav maintained discipline and promoted 
progress in every portion of his dominions, and through 



94 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

all branches of the public service. Nowhere was the 
supremacy of this prince more respected than in his 
own family; and not one of his five sons ever ventured 
to assert the slightest claim against the authority of 
Bretislav. They knew their father too well for that. 
No monk or bishop ever presumed to suggest an in- 
vidious or exceptional demeanor toward the represen- 
tative of any asserted light from heaven, or against 
the instructors of any useful art, philosophy, or lan- 
guage , and especial]}' not against the teachers of the 
ancient and venerated Slavonian. Not Edward I. of 
England himself when he held up the written proof of 
suggested treason in the face of the recreant arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and saw the would-be traitor 
in tears before him*, was better recognized as the 
sovereign of the land, even against mitred plotters, 
than was Bretislav in his steadily sustained supremacy 
over all persons and things, lay and clerical, in his 
dominions. 

Spityhnev had been already constituted lieutenant 
of his father in Moravia with the courtiesy title of duke 
in 1048; and Bretislav was active in traversing all the 
border districts, in establishing local fortresses, and 
commissioning Zupans for the defense of the frontier. 
Prague was newly fortified ; and the whole country 
placed in the best condition of security that circum- 
stances would allow. The most important service ren- 
dered by this distinguished prince to his country from 
a political point of view, consisted in the change which 
his authority, wisdom, and influence enabled him to 
effect in the system of succession to the dukedom. 
Hitherto the Slavonic custom of division and subdi- 

* See the Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury by the Dean of 
Chichester. 



THE GREA T ERA OF BRETISLA V 95 

vision of an inheritance was extended to the succes- 
sion to the crown, as well as private estates. This 
system, which, as already suggested is not the most 
expedient either in public or private life, although 
it contains elements of equity, had been fruitful in 
quarrels, treason, and bloodshed among the ducal ca- 
dets of Bohemia, had at length become dangerous to 
the unity, and hence to the safety of the country. It 
had become a peremptory necessity that all petty 
claims of sovereignty among the sons of the reigning 
duke should merge in one central authority; and that 
the junior branches should receive compensatory al- 
lowance from local revenues, or from the formal in- 
come derived from direct official duties. Bretislav bad 
reached the age of forty-nine years when he promul- 
gated his pragmatic decree fixing the succession to 
the dukedom in the eldest male member of the family 
absolutely ; and providing dignified provincial posi- 
tions for the juniors. With this view Spityhnev was 
formally designated as successor to the dukedom of Bo- 
hemia, as lord paramount; his three brothers, Vratis- 
lav, Conrad and Otto, were established at Olmiitz, 
Znaim and Briinn respectively; while the youngest, 
Jaromir, was reserved for a modest bishopric in 
Prague, like the VIII. Henry of the Tudors in his 
younger days. But royalty is always contented if only 
its roots are in fat places. This decree was published 
with all solemnity, and the required oath of allegiance 
under it was imposed in due form ; but although con- 
ceived in foresight and drawn up with much practical 
wisdom, it failed to reach all the evils it was designed 
to prevent. 

While still in the vigor of his manhood Bretislav 
was struck down by sickness at Chrudim, and died 



96 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

there in 1055 in the fiftieth year of his age. The pre- 
mature decease of this great prince was a serious 
shock to his countrymen, and a still more dreadful 
calamity to his family. His vigor and wisdom ren- 
dered signal service to Bohemia; and his remains 
were deposited in the church of St. Vitus in Prague 
amid universal mourning. 

To this prince belongs the honor of consolidating 
the provinces of Bohemia under one central authority, 
and thus of completing the work begun by his father. 
Disdain of submission to alien power found expression 
in refusal of tribute, or any other token of subser- 
vience. 

Spityhnev ascended the ducal throne amid the accla- 
mations of all ranks, and with the ancient formalities 
of election. He was dignified in manners and aspect; 
and is described as of handsome person, with very 
black hair, full beard, cheeks fair and ruddy; and full 
of manly energy and mental resource.* But with all 
these advantages he was by no means the equal of 
his father ; and had been reared in a school of which 
the second Ferdinand and the second Philip in a sub- 
sequent age are familiar examples, a school new to 
Bohemia, and a school whose blindness eventually im- 
posed frightful calamities on the country. 

The civil and judicial administration of Bohemia, 
at the accession of Spityhnev, may be here conven- 
iently and briefly described. 

The manners of the eleventh century were — if pos- 
sible, more barbarous than those of the tenth had 
been. Continual feuds for private interests and for 

* Erat vir valde speciosus, caesarie piu nigrior atra, barba pro- 
lixa, facie laeta, genoe ejus candidiores nive et parum rubentes per me- 
dium. Cosmas Pragen. L., c, p. 429. 

Erat vir prudens verum in discriminine. Ibid., p. 134. 



TH^ GREA T ERA OP BRET J SLA V 97 

the gratification of personal animosity, and destructive 
wars between classes and peoples rendered Germany, 
France, and Italy a scene of constant bloodshed and dis- 
turbance. No organized system for the administration 
of justice, and no authority to enforce the decrees of 
such courts as had a feeble tenure of jurisdiction ex- 
isted anywhere to which men could appeal with any 
confidence either for just principles of law, or the 
vindication of the right by the hand of power. The 
primitive jurisdictions that had sprung out of the for- 
mative elements of earlier mediaeval society had be- 
come gradually weakened, and in many districts were 
totally obliterated. The imperial authorit}'^ had not 
become consolidated, since the fall of the Carlovin- 
gians, so as to be able to inaugurate a system of ad- 
ministration that could penetrate all provinces and 
reach every hamlet. The feudal barons struggled for 
increased power over their sub-feudatories ; and were 
obliged to maintain their possessions with the strong 
hand. Cities and municipalities were not yet called 
into active and formal participation in public counsels 
generally ; and their internal regulation had become 
an organized subdivision into rival clans and factions 
where there was any organization at all. The smaller 
towns, which had grown up under the shadow of the 
baronial fortalice that frowned from the neighboring 
eminence, were necessarily ruled by the lord of the 
ramparts to whose shelter the people had gradually 
repaired. The church consisted of some smouldering 
ecclesiastical ashes and charred embers at Rome, witli 
some burning and illuminating coals still lighted and 
cheerful in isolated places at a distance. Rome itself 
was the scene of disgraceful profligacy and degeneracy 
that had seized on all conditions and callings. Not 



98 fii$TORY OF BO HE MIA 

only no man looked toward Rome with any respect 
but all men regarded her with disgust and contempt ; 
and her reformation was undertaken necessarily from 
without, and by civil rulers who keenly felt their deg- 
radation and were ashamed of her shame. Some 
well intentioned persons struggled to relieve the dis- 
tress of the "times by an appeal to a kind of religious 
feeling; and the "Truce of God," an institution not 
of christian origin, and which now called on all 
christians to lay aside feuds and enmities, obtained 
only very limited success. An extraordinary injunction 
issued from the ecclesiastical mind of the time requir- 
ing all persons to suspend fighting, public and pri- 
vate, from Wednesday evening of each week until the 
following Monday morning. A. D. 1043. Probably 
it was necessary to leave the other three days as a safety 
valve to prevent a destructive explosion of the entire 
arrangement. No doubt every Thursday morning the 
calendar of the primary courts of the period must have 
contained a heav}' list of disfigured eyes, and battered 
noses as expressive of the chartered pugnacity of the 
preceding interregnum. Unhappil}^ even such tribu- 
nals did not exist. If they had existed the purses of 
the justices, mostly ecclesiastics, must have grown 
as plethoric as they do now in similar cases. Neither 
church nor state seems to have possessed a single 
principle capable of touching the reason of men ; both 
despised all appeal to men's hearts; and personal 
flagellation was the most effectual cure for metaphys- 
ical distempers in the judgment even of the best men 
of the day. Henry III. caused a chastisement of this 
kind to be inflicted on himself whenever it was his 
duty to assume the imperial crown as the badge of 
his imperial dignity. 



THE GREAT ERA OP BRETISLAV gg 

The papacy partook of the general confusion. Tliree 
rival popes, each under the usual odium theologicum 
of his competitors struggled for the mastery of the 
"Chair of Peter." The synod of Sutri, A. D. 1046, 
solemnly vested in Henry the right to nominate the 
ruler of the Roman hierarchy. Acting under this con- 
ceded authority, Henry nominated three popes in suc- 
cession — Clement H., Damasus II., and Leo IX. 
The college of cardinals for the first time adopted the 
practice of electing the pope only during the minority 
of the succeeding emperor, Henry IV., in 1056; and 
from that time all reference to the people was aban- 
doned. 

During all this confusion and cruelty, not only 
peace and prosperity reigned in Bohemia, as we have 
seen, but respect for law and duty, public and private, 
v/as seen dail}^ exhibited ; and the most formal and 
detailed procedure was maintained in the administra- 
tion of justice. 

Up to the age of Libussa, and for a long time after- 
ward private differences seem to have been adjusted 
by the summoning of a court of notables as occasion 
required. For minor questions the authority of the 
local magnate was sufficient, and the customs of the 
people had become so well established that but little 
direct intervention of power seems to have been need- 
ed. Custom becomes a kind of instinct ; and needs 
no enforcement. But formal courts were gradually 
more and more recognized; and their constitution pre- 
sented a singular blending of primitive customs, and 
rules imposed by authority. The gradual formation 
of a class of judicial functionaries as distinct from the 
landed proprietors becomes also discernible. The courts 
fundamentally were organized as higher, lower, and 



loo HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

riparian. The higher courts exercised jurisdiction 
over offenses connected with landed property. Of 
this class were — the retention of a serf by one propri- 
etor and the refusal to surrender him on demand by 
another who claimed to be his suzerain and protector; 
the reception of a fugitive from justice condemned to 
a fine or other penalty for breach of territorial law; 
poaching; interference with boundaries and the evi- 
dences of the same; contentions between townsmen 
and land tenants; violations of forestry laws, and 
others directly affecting landed interests. These courts 
had no fixed seat or terms; but were convened as occa- 
sion, or the nature of the case, or local convenience 
required. They were presided over by the more ca- 
pable of the landholders not interested in the subject 
at issue; and the presiding judges were never less 
than two. The mode of summons to the parties is 
not clear; but in the absence of written documents a 
message by the representative of a local magistrate 
would probably suffice. The plaintiff might be expect- 
ed and the defendant had the option presumably of 
defending himself. An appeal was permitted to the 
ducal council before mentioned. The community of 
interest in the maintenance of justice in such causes 
of necessity produced a sense of equity in the minds 
of these judges; and the system was satisfactory. The 
lower courts took cognizance of "Common Pleas;" and 
adjudicated matters of private grievance between citi- 
zens of all ranks below the nobles. Civil and crim- 
inal jurisdiction was possessed by them; and a close 
resemblance is observable between them both in juris- 
diction, causes, and practice, and the county courts 
in some, if not all of the United States. The orig- 
inal constitution of these courts is referred to A. D. 



THE GREA T ERA OF BRE TISLA V i o i 

791. Some parts of the procedure bear a resemblance 
to the praetorian customs in Rome; and some other 
parts to the earliest procedure in the English courts 
where the clerks decided on the form of process, ac- 
cording to the circumstances. The complainant stated 
his case, the judge in attendance decided on the 
proper form, summons was issued to the defendant; 
on his appearance the complaint was explained to 
him, his defense was noted down, witnesses were pro- 
duced on both sides, formal arguments on the case 
were submitted to the court, and sentence was finally 
given after full hearing of the parties in presence of 
each other in open court. No secret tribunal ever 
existed in Bohemia. Justice was always administered 
in public according to the ancient and unintermitted 
custom of the people. These courts heard and de- 
cided causes in all the cities, towns, and villages of 
the country; and even members of the nobility inter- 
ested in questions within the jurisdiction of these 
tribunals were subject to their authority, so far as 
those interests went. The local dignitary or consul, 
with his civic council, constituted the usual court; 
and sessions were held either weekly, on alternate 
days, or daily, as population and occasion required. 
The court was convened either in a public hall or in 
the open air. A singular system also prevailed of 
having appeals to separate judges, one after the other, 
from the lower to the higher, not assembled "in banc," 
but individuall}-; each with a sworn clerk, decided the 
case at his own residence; a very primitive but effect- 
ual kind of chamber practice. The complaint, process, 
pleadings and judgment constituted a public record 
under seal.* 

* Quia enim experientia longa explorata est Bojemorum, proesertim 
nibiliorum, certa in dictis factisque fides, ideo nihil hie visum est esse, 



102 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The riparian court held jurisdiction over all causes 
arising from the inflow and outflow of rivers, from 
mills, bridges, aqueducts, encroachments, banks, irri- 
gations, and other matters connected immediately with 
the interests arising from the use of the streams in 
their natural, or artificial condition. This was a special 
court; and the judges consisted of persons of known 
skill and experience in the subjects under litigation;, 
assisted by lawyers versed in the laws of the country 
and the decisions qf past ages. But there is no evidence 
of trained lawyers in Bohemia before the thirteenth 
century. The judgment alwaj^s conformed to the gen- 
eral law; ("dicere ex more solent" says Stransky, 
and this expression certainl}' refers to the predomi- 
nance of custom); but was adjusted to the circum- 
stances of each case. Stransky's language does not 
necessarily exclude the idea of advocacy; but it strong- 
ly implies the contrary. 

The jurisdiction of this court was criminal as well 
as civil. In the former case sentence was pronounced 
speedily; and in the latter the judgment did not be- 
come confirmed unless the litigants accepted it in ex- 
press terms, or acquiesced silently for six weeks. These 
riparian courts were founded on a strictly equity prin- 
ciple exceedingly remarkable and praiseworthy con- 
sidering the period, the confusion of all legal proceed- 

quamobrem vel fraus, vel subordinatio, vel perjurium metueretur * * 
vocantur in hoc judicium, descriptoque legibus, et recepto ordine dis- 
ceptantur ac deciduntur, caussoe sine discriminine quavis, cum civiles- 
tam criminales, editur ab actore actio, decernuntur ab judice proces- 
sus necessarii, citatur ad tribunal adversarius, libellus producitur, 
litis sit contestatio, probationes a litigantibus caussaeque merita alle- 
gantur, disputantur, concluduntur, ultimo ue tandem judicium lata 
ab judice sententiafinitur; et quae ab utraque parte pro caussa fuerint 
vel dicta vel pro ducta, ordine describantur legantur, expendantur 
definiantur, custodiantur. Stransky Da Boj. Trib. Jurisdic, in Boj. 



THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV 103 

ings in all other countries at that time, and the fact 
that the equity principle and procedure were not es- 
tablished finally even in England for seven hundred 
years later.* 

Bohemia being thus pre-eminently an institutional 
country, the firm hand of a prince like Bretislav, who 
was at once a soldier, a magistrate, and a legislator, 
found little difficulty in maintaining order. The insti- 
tutions, however, were clearly formative, and in a 
transition state not to something different, but to the 
same thing more developed and complete. A wise 
prince could have extended their benefits while sus- 
taining their popular character; but an innovator or a 
bigot could easily discover defects which he could 
pervert to his own purposes. The influence of the 
reigning prince, exerted directly and through local 
adherents, could fill the judicial positions with his own 
creatures, and thus concentrate all power gradually in 
his own hands. The bar had not yet advanced to 
the dignity of a commissioned guild of tribunes of 
the people to stand between power and liberty, and 
assert the justice due to an accused either in a civil or 
criminal court, for the maintenance of individual rights 
before the law in all cases whatsoever; and public 
sentiment had not yet environed the profession of the 
law with the halo of popular approval of the dignified 
and orderly assertion of the principle of equal justice 
to all men, and free and open investigation of all 
accusations. We do find, however, frequent mention 
of a jurisconsultus in connection with municipal gov- 
ernments as the authorized and commissioned legal 

* Adhibentur huic judicio adstricti sacramento speciali; et de cau- 
sis, id genus quod tractunt disciplina. experienta, consuetudinario 
juresuo, et majorum judicatis in loco quod innovatum quod est, quod 
aquura videtur, pronuntiant. Stransky, De Boj. Trib. 



I04 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

advocate of the municipality. Under the last great 
Hohenstaufen, the profession of public advocate 
assumed a dignity and acknowledged right to con- 
front the highest accuser, even the self-asserted vice- 
gerent 'of God himself. His rights, his reasonings, 
his actions, were all equally combated with a freedom 
and an authority that prove the high place conceded 
to the enunciation of the law of civil government by 
its professed exponents. Unhappily, the practical 
vindication of the supremacy of that law in all cases 
was committed to the professional lawj'er not in his 
legal but his knightly capacity; and his rightful con- 
tention was for the moment overborne by military er- 
rors. But his cause was won before the highest tri- 
bunal on earth, that of public opinion more and more 
solidly confirmed as the centuries roll on. The Bo- 
hemians had held their own rights in their own hands 
because their system was purely native, and had 
grown with the slow progress of society. But the 
time was approaching when the want of an organized 
body of public servants, equally recognized by rulers 
and people, and possessed of the right of free speech 
in every presence, and in defense of person and every 
interest, however humble, established as an integral 
portion of the community, became the most serious 
defect in the composition of societ3^ The Bohemians 
had always been a free people indeed; "but their an- 
cestors never did draw the line between prerogative 
and liberty." Their isolation and their confidence in 
themselves deprived them of the knowledge of dangers 
which were already working, because no example of 
the effect of the causes that created the dangers had 
been then represented to them. When they discov- 
ered the danger it was too late to prevent it. Happy 



THE GREAT ERA OF BRETISLAV 105 

for other nations if they take warning from Bohemia! 

During his enforced residence in Germany, Spityhnev 
conceived a fierce hatred of the Germans; and his ac- 
cession afforded him so many opportunities for exhib- 
iting this feeling that the duchess dowager retired from 
court; and took up her residence with her younger 
son, Vratislav, in Moravia. This circumstance prob- 
ably gave occasion for an early exhibition of a rebel- 
lious tendency against the sole supremacy of Spityhnev; 
and the renewal of family discord. Vratislav paid 
very little, if any, attention to his brother' s authority, 
and ruled in. practical independence for some time. 
But the pragmatic decree of Bretislav was too recent 
to be allowed to fall into desuetude by the first prince 
who succeeded to its provisions. 

Spityhnev marched to Moravia, and under pretense 
of invitation to a public snem (reichstag) after the 
usual custom, seized three hundred of the most emi- 
nent persons whom he detained as-hostages for the sub- 
mission of the rest. Vratislav fled to Hungary; but 
his duchess and his two younger brothers were led 
back to Bohemia under escort. The duchess was sub- 
jected to very harsh treatment and died shortly after- 
ward. Vratislav subsequently married a daughter of 
Andreas of Hungary through whose intervention prob- 
ably a reconciliation was effected with Spityhnev. 
Vratislav was restored to his position in Moravia 
where he observed at least outwardly a proper defer- 
ence to his brother. Spityhnev' s art of government 
consisted in a close attendance on church ordinances, 
and in an enforcement of similar attention on all per- 
sons in his dominions. He was the servant and fol- 
lower as he had been the pupil of the Roman hie- 
rarchy. The opportunity for final triumph over their 



1 06 HIS TOR V OF B OH EM I A 

Greek-Slavonian rivals presented by the subserviency 
of the reigning duke was not lost on his spiritual di- 
rectors. Charges were preferred against the community 
at Sazava wliich were probably quite as unfounded or 
as well founded during the reign of Bretislav, or at 
any time for a hundred years, as they were when 
made ; but a prince equally one-sided and submissive 
had not previously held rule. The usual cry of heresy 
was raised against the institution that had preserved 
the memory and the doctrines as well as learning, 
both Greek and Slavonian of C3'^ril and Methodius. 
The ear of the prince was readily gained. The ten- 
ants of the doomed institution were condemned ; th£y 
retired tp Hungary; and the Latin rite supplanted 
the Slavonian in the very home of a Slavonian peo- 
ple. * 

Under similar influences Spityhnev was induced to 
expect an exchange of a monarch's crown for a ducal 
coronet, if he made proper application. To this end 
he bound himself to the payment of one hundred 
marks in silver yearly to the pope's treasury. The 
money was sent, — good coin such as had been stipu- 
lated ; but instead of a crown the pope — Nicholas II. 
— sent him a choir cap of ermine, in mockery of con- 
tempt for the frail ambition of a prince whg could 
sell himself and his country for a bauble and a title, 
T059. Less than two years afterwards Spit3'hnev died 
at the untimely age of thirty years, having well 
earned the rather dubiously creditable title of "Father 

* Instigante zelo diaboli, multi CEmuli ficitia venenosa detractiorn- 
um conspirantes, in curia ducis contra vitum, abbatem atque aures 
principes favor abiliter compositis mendaciis obfuscantes, Scilicet 
dicentes per Slavonicas literas haeresis secta, hypocrisisque esse aperte 
irretitop ae omnino perversos; quamobrem rjectis iis, in loco evrum 
latinofc auctontatas abbatem et fratres etc. Chron. Sazaviense 1., c, 
P- 97 



THE GREA T ERA OF BRETISLA V 107 

of the Clergy." His additional eponym of "Father 
of the Widows" rests on an exceedingly slender foun- 
dation.* 

* In connection with the election of this prince a most interesting 
expression is employed by Cosmas; — ' Spitigneum omnes Bohemias 
gentis magni et parri, communi consilio et voluntate pari eligunt sibi 
in ducem cantentes Kyrieeleison (^iJpzfi 's/le z'doj') cantilenam dul- 
cem." Here is a most valuable remnant of the Greek liturgy still re- 
tained with its old Greek title, and probably its Greek words. Cos- 
mas p. 129. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VRATISLAV. — GKEGORY VII. — BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM. 

Spityhnev was succeeded as chief ruler of Bohemia 
by his brother Vratislav II. who had held the title 
and rank of duke of Olmiitz. This prince divided 
Moravia among his brothers Conrad and Otto; — the 
former receiving Briiun, and the latter — named the 
Handsome, the province of Olmiitz. In this distribu- 
tion Jaromir, the youngest was unprovided for. Has- 
tening home to claim hi's share, he expected to obtain 
the appanage decreed to him by his father in case 
the ecclesiastical function for which he was destined 
should prove distasteful. But the enterprise presented 
to his active spirit by war and the chase suited the 
prince better than the monotony of cassock and brev- 
iary. 

Vratislav succeeded in captivating a brief submis- 
sion with the bait of the see and emoluments of Prague 
on the death of the present incumbent Sever ; and 
Jaromir even accepted ordination as a deacon. But 
"blood will tell" in princes as in peasants; and cowl 
and crozier were speedily abandoned forever. With a 
few spirits as untamed as his own for companions the 
militant deacon sought congenial emploj'ment from 
the King of Poland. 

From 1051 to T058 the latter country was ruled by 
Casimir I. At the close of that period Boleslav the 
second also named "The Brave" succeeded. At that 

108 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM 109 

time Hungary was distracted by civil commotion be- 
tween King Andreas and his brother Bela; the latter 
affecting to think himself aggrieved by the coronation 
of Solomon, son of Andreas, as heir apparent. As 
usual the innocent peasantry suffered grievously in this 
quarrel in which they received all the blows.* Intri- 
cate family relations between the various contestants 
and their abettors aggravated the strife. Bela had 
married Richsa, sister of Casimir of Poland. Vratislav. 
of Bohemia was brother-in-law of young Solomon, and 
son in-law of King Andreas. Accordingly when Bp- 
leslav besieged Gratz in revenge for the countenance 
given to Solomon, a Bohemian force surrounded the 
Poles and left few to narrate how it all happened. 
Andreas, however, was unsuccessful. He fell in 1061, 
and Bela reigned peacefully until his death in 1063. 
Eventually an arrangement was effected through the 
intervention of Henry IV. of Germany. Solomon be- 
came King of Hungary; and took as his queen Sophia, 
sister of the German prince. Vratislav lost his Hun- 
garian princess in 1062, and his second consort was 
Svatislava or Svatava, sister of Boleslav; thus afford- 
ing excellent opportunities for farther family alliances 
and commotion. 

■Among the earliest cares of Vratislav II. was the 
creation of the see of Olomouc (Olmiitz.) Some diffi- 
culty was experienced in providing suitable mainte- 
nance. But a residence and endowment were at length 
secured; the see of Prague indemnified; a final con- 
tract effected between Bretislav, Otto, Conrad and 
Bishop Sever in 1062; in the following year the new 
see was formally established; and John, a Benedic- 
tine monk of the monaster}' of Brevenov, was conse- 

* Quicquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi. See Virgil. 



1 1 o HIS TOR y OF B ONE MI A 

crated first bishop by Siegfried, archbishop of May: 
ence. 

But policy toward ecclesiastics did not eradicate the 
native fierceness of the Przemysls from the soul of 
Vratislav. His brother Spityhnev's widow, Ida of 
Witin, and her children, were driven out of the coun- 
try; Jaromir was indebted to the intervention of Greg- 
ory" VII. for even a slender subsistence in Bohemia; 
and a certain nobleman who had treated Vratislav's 
princess harshly in former years was banished with 
short shrift. But Vratislav did one good thing that 
endeared him to his people : he restored the monks of 
Sazava, under their Abbot Vitus, in 1064; and Bohe- 
mia again enjoyed the congenial literature of her 
early glory, and her Slavonian protest against Roman 
doctrinal intrusiveness and domination — for a time. 
Vratislav sought a confirmation of this brotherhood, 
and permission for the continued use of the Slavonian 
liturgy from the Pope. Bat the latter replied that 
the holy Scripture would vbe brought into contempt 
if read. in the vernacular tongue of the people. All 
history had disproved this pretense. The early church, 
to whom the epistles were addressed to be read in 
the vernacular; the auditors of the divine preacher 
himself whose New Testament consisted exclusively in 
the vernacular addresses of the great Master — ad- 
dresses which now constitute the chief portion of the 
second revelation; the scattered brethren who carried 
their parchment bibles with them in their wandering 
as the most precious treasures; the christians of An- 
tioch, Socotra, Abyssinia, Aden, Perim, Malabar, 
Ceylon, the Houng-ho, and the Burrampootra; the 
martyrs of Chosroes, the victims of Saladin ; the count- 
less sufferers of Albi; the despairing children of the 
valleys 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM in 

"Whose bones 
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold." 

the faithful Lollards, Huguenots, and Camisards, and 
all the countless good whose open Bible was at once 
their glory and their reproach, — all — all venerated the 
written word in all their varied vernacular, and treas- 
ured it as a priceless legacy to be sheltered from the 
destroyer as more sacred than life itself. 

In December, 1067, Bishop Sever died having served 
his see thirty-seven years, many of them marked by 
serious political vicissitudes. The princes Conrad and 
Otto at once recalled Jaromir; and strongly urged 
Vratislav to confirm him in the see of Prague. But 
the prince was apprehensive of a combination of his 
family thus strpngly reinforced and had formed a se- 
cret wish to establish his court chaplain, Lanzo, on 
tlie episcopal throne. Under this united feeling of 
dynastic and political alarm Vratislav renounced all 
individual right to make the appointment; and de- 
clared that an election lay with the snem (Landtag) 
composed of Zupans, Pans and Vladykas, or nobles, 
gentlemen and knights, assisted by such ecclesiastics 
of distinction as enjoyed the right to participate in 
such an election. The date of these transactions 1068, 
being about one hundred and forty years earlier than 
the famous parliament of Simon de Montfort, and one 
hundred and ten years before the vaunted authorship of 
the "representation of the commons"'* in the states gen- 
eral by Philip the Fair of France, forms an important 
historical link between the modern practice and the 
ancient. 

This famous meeting was attended by the representa- 

* "Ce roi * * est cependant la restaurateur des assemblees popu- 
laires de la France, et I'Auteur de la representation des communes 
dans les etats generaux." Sismondi Hist., des Fr. V. 589. 



112 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lives clothed in full armor of the day, and convened 
under the open sky on the glebe land of Dohenin near 
the northern border of Bohemia. In the center of the 
camp sat Duke Vratislav, surrounded b} his brothers 
and the chief dignitaries of the state. Next to them 
in circles sat the noMes, cultivators and ecclesiastics 
in the order named, and the knights in another semi- 
circle enclosing the assembly. The significance of this 
arrangement is obvious, and marks a very ancient 
S3'stem when a military caste had the real task of pro- 
tecting the entire community. It was the solemn con- 
clave of a free people in the full form of ancient na- 
tional usage. 

Vratislav prematurely proceeded to invest Lanzo 
with staff and ring in token of his election. Forth- 
with the assembly became tumultuous. Clamors 
arose; swords were drawn, and the assembly broke up 
in confusion, the greater portion taking part with 
Jaromir, son of their native and favorite duke against 
Lanzo a stranger, and a court favorite — nothing more. 
The malcontents at once marched to Opocno where 
they constructed a formidable camp. By a timely 
concession Vratislav withdrew his favor from Lanzo, 
and consented to the election of Jaromir. At the end 
of the same month, June, 1068, the prince received 
investiture of ring and staff from Henry IV; was 
consecrated bishop by Siegfried at Mayence, and ac- 
cording to a custom not long before introduced into 
the church, adopted the name of Gebhard. The 
new prelate lived on friendly terms with his brothers ; 
but he was a merry priest and a jolly, fond of prac- 
tical pranks, and his calling spread but a thin ve- 
neering over his innate haughtiness and lust of power. 

Disputes in regard to the allowance of one hundred 



B O HE MIA BE COMES A KINGD OM 1 1 3 

marks of silver to the bishop of Prague out of the 
funds of the province of Olmiitz in lieu of the episco- 
pal residence assigned to the latter dignitary within 
Moravia led to serious troubles; and both parties ap- 
pealed to Pope Alexander II. This event led to the 
embassy of the first papal legate ever dispatched to 
Bohemia. When this personage, named Rudolph, 
reached Prague, he assumed the most extravagant de- 
meanor. Vratislav assembled his nobles and prelates 
as a supreme council of the nation. Jaromir refused 
to recognize the legate, and was put under ban of the 
church. But this sentence provoked such strong con- 
dsmnation that the legate contented himself with the 
deprivation of Jaromir of all his episcopal functions. 
The prince bishop who was entitled to his hundred 
marks, was compelled to withdraw from Bohemia, and 
his rival of Olmiitz administered his diocese. 

The demise of Alexander II., April 22, 1073, placed 
Gregory VII. in the papal chair; and the war of in- 
vestitures began. Vratislav naturally embraced the 
cause of Henry and sent numerous battalions to his 
aid. Siegfried seized the opportunity to revive some 
old complaints against Vratislav, in the interest of 
Gregory, and the duke v/as placed under episcopal 
ban. This age was as fertile of such proceedings as 
the great fern era was of the materials of our coal 
beds. The memory of that period and the dense pro- 
fusion of painful events which its history presents, 
form a kind of historical coal seam of great thickness 
and density and most dreadfully inflammable still. It 
will probabl}^ provide the materials for the fires of 
ecclesiastical controversy for a thousand years. Some 
scattered specimens of tliC same growth are still ex- 
tant, and constitute the chief religious flora of some 



114 HIS TOR Y OF B HE MIA 

regions to this day. If the world had not been blessed 
with the mercifully violent upheavals that buried the 
great mass far beneath the surface, our world must 
still have been filled with fierce and formidable creat- 
ures with a monstrous appetite for flesh and blood. 

The following year, 1074, saw the arrival of two 
legates in Bohemia, who remained many months un- 
der pretense of arranging the details of church affairs. 
But the disputes with Gregory continued, and finally 
all parties, the bishops of Prague and Olmutz, the 
princes Otto and Conrad, and Vratislav himself were 
summoned to Rome. 

Jaromir found a very influential friend in the count- 
ess Matilda whose grandmother was sister of Jaromir, 
both daughters of Herman, duke of Swabia. As 
Gregory was a veritable Orloff, and the countess not 
altogether averse to the ways of Catharine, the papal 
ear was reached with the least possible effort. Not 
surprising is it then that Jaromir advanced rapidly 
in favor, and was soon dispatched to Bohemia in full 
possession of his dignity and its emoluments. The 
pope had gained his object in subjecting the Bohemian 
people directly to papal authority. 

During the fierce struggle between Henry IV. and 
the Saxons, Vratislav lent powerful aid to his imperial 
friend; and in the dreadful battle fought at Langensalza 
in June, 1074, when the Saxons seemed to have gained 
decided advantage, a fierce charge made by the Bo- 
hemian prince at the head of the Chekh cavalry de- 
cided the hard contested fight, and drove the Saxons 
into that fatal flight that crushed their turbulent spir- 
it and rendered Henry unresisted master of the German 
throne. In this engagement for the first time the Bo- 
hemians recognized the valor of English troops, who 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM 115 

charged beside them in the great effort of theday. Five 
years later Henry again experienced the firm devotion 
of Vratislav in the memorable contest between Henry 
and the combined German princes under Rudolph of 
Swabia. At Merseberg Vratislav found himself closely 
hemmed in, and must have succumbed had not Viprecht 
one of his generals broken the Saxon line. Three days 
later Rudolph died of his wounds and the war closed. 

Up to the year 1075 a very friendly feeling had pre- 
vailed between Vratislav and Pope Gregory; and 
the former had successfully requested preferment for 
his nephew Frederick, son of Spityhnev \\. But in 
uhe year last mentioned the relations between the 
courts suddenly changed, and the two friends became 
irreconcilable enemies. In 1081, Henry undertook a 
war of retaliation against Gregory, pressed his foe 
hard in Rome, and drove him, though still unsubdued, 
into his fatal exile at Salerno. For this expedition 
against his country's persecutor Vratislav contributed 
four thousand marks in silver, a well appointed di- 
vision under his son Boriwoj, with the illustrious 
Viprecht of Groitsch as the real commander. With 
so much stern devotion did these men fight against 
the hated priest, and the still more hated Roman, 
that only nine men returned to Bohemia after three 
years' service. They were among the foremost to 
storm the leonine city in 1083, and their gallant com- 
mander was recompensed with the hand of the prin- 
cess Yutta, or Judith, and a rich estate in land in 
the district of which Dresden subsequently became 
the capital. 

In the meantime in 1081, Margraf Leopold of Aus- 
tria had allied himself with Gregory against Henry. 
In conjunction with Altman, bishop of Passau, and 



ii6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Herman of Luxembourg, he laid siege to the imperial 
city of Augsburg. Henry sent a request from Italy 
to Vratislav to protect his territories against this di- 
version in his rear. This war was the beginning of 
strife between Austria and Bohemia ; and has never 
been forgotten by either. Vratislav was prompt to lend 
powerful support to his imperial ally, in conjunction 
with liis brother and the forces of Otto, bishop of 
Rensberg. With a strong force from Bohemia and 
Moravia, Vratislav assailed the besiegers; and a fierce 
battle was fought on the 12th of May at Mainberg. 
Vratislav arranged his Bavarians on the right, the 
Moravians under his brother Conrad on the left, and 
led the Bohemians in the center in person. The Aus- 
trians were hewn down with dreadful slaughter. The 
fugitives were fierceh^ pursued, and immense stores of 
every kind fell to the victors. This splendid achieve- 
ment really subdued Gregory, and delivered Rome to 
his antagonist ; on the same principles as a more re- 
cent victor}' on Bohemian soil wrested Rome forever 
from the grasp of Gregory's successor. These events 
afford the key to the truculent animosity which was 
in subsequent centuries directed by Roman hatred and 
Austrian vindictiveness against the political and relig- 
ious independence of Bohemia. 

Returning in triumph from Italy Henry was not 
unmindful nor ungrateful. In a solemn reichstag at 
Maj^ence in the end of April, 1086, the royal dignity 
was conferred on Vratislav amid scenes of the great- 
est rejoicing and enthusiasm, the Emperor with his 
own hand placing the crown on the head of the gal- 
lant recipient. Engelhart, archbishop of Treves per- 
formed the ceremon)' of anointing with the accustomed 
formalities; and the shout went up through all Bo- 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM 117 

hemia, "Health, victory, and benediction forever to 
the illustrious and good Vratislav, anointed of God, 
King of Bohemia and of Poland." The claim of sov- 
ereignity over the latter country was well founded to 
a certain extent at this period, for Vratislav really 
ruled Polish territory on this side of the Oder. For 
the rest-the title was as good as that of the English 
kings over France in the eighteenth century. Royal 
territory has been practically "in partibus" very 
often.* 

In the following year the cathedral of Vysehraad was 
consecrated under royal rescript with the names of 
John of Tusculum, cardinal, Englebert archbishop of 
Treves, Jaromir bishop of Prague, Weczel bishop of 
Olmiitz, and Meuno bishop of Merseburg as attesting 
signitaries. This foundation was made independent 
of local episcopal jurisdiction; and was directly sub- 
ject to the Pope of Rome; and so continued until the 
Hussite revolution, and with some diminution of au- 
thority down to later times. 

During this — 1086 — and the following years the first 
indications were observed of the relief of Bohemia from 
all semblance of tributary subordination to German)'. 
Ail chronicles express the belief that the sum of four 
thousand silver marks, and the miiitar}' battalion fur- 
nished by Vratislav for the expedition to Italy, were 
reall}' a commutation of the yearl}' allowance paid 
into the imperial treasur}'. From this period all trace 
of such payment disappeared. But notwithstanding 
the dignity conferred on the reigning prince the ele- 
vation of Vratislav to kingly eminence was not re- 
ceived with universal favor. Much of the old sturdy 

* It must be remembered however that Bohemia collected a regu- 
lar tribute from all Poland at this period. 



ii8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

spirit of independence, and of equality of real rank, 
though one was leader in war and administration in 
peace, still survived among the nobility. The pope 
Clement III. made some difficulties; but a payment 
of one hundred marks nominally for a mitre, was ac- 
cepted in lieu of the peter-pence demand, which was 
directly refused under that humiliating title. 

Political cares did not diminish with accession of 
rank. The march of Merseberg was conferred on 
Vratislav by imperial edict; and Bretislav the eldest 
son of the Bohemian king was placed in control of 
the new acquisition and of the fortress erected for its 
defense. During the expedition for this purpose 
Vratislav was wounded early with severe effect, b}^ 
Beneda, a Bohemian knight, who had fled to Poland, 
and now was in Merseberg apparently with the inten- 
tion of executing some private revenge on the new 
sovereign. The king was rescued by another knight ; 
and was obliged at once to direct his attention to 
intestine troubles in Moravia. 

Duke Otto died shortly before his brother's corona- 
tion. His sons Svatopluk and Otto took possession of 
the late duke's province and attempted to induce 
their uncle Conrad to assert the independence of Mo- 
ravia. Vratislav expelled the young scapegraces from 
their estates. They fled to Conrad to Brunn and 
Vratislav besieged the town. 

A misunderstanding arose during this siege that led 
to an estrangement between the king and his son. 
Field-marshal Zderad seems to have entertained an 
opinion of the prince's prowess similar to that of the 
constable of France of the valorousness of the Dau- 
phin as described by Shakespeare.* Some words from 
* Henry v., Act III., Sc. VII. 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM iig 

the old soldier who stood high in the esteam of Vrat- 
islav, no feeble judge of an officer's merit,, provoked 
the resentment of the prince, who demanded a death 
penalty. The request was peremptorily refused, and 
the prince and his immediate followers retired from 
the camp. By the intervention of Conrad's consort 
Walburgis amity was restored; and Vratislav retired. 
Bretislav erected a camp not far from Koeniggratz; and 
shortly afterwards withdrew to Ladislav of Hungary 
with about two thousand followers, to whom a small 
territory on the "land of Goshen" principle was as- 
signed. 

Very early after these occurrences died Jaromir, 
bishop of Prague. The confirmation of his successor 
was attended with difficulty arising from the new re- 
lations subsisting between the emperor, the king of 
Bohemia, and the pope of Rome. The choice of Vrat- 
islav fell on Cosmas, a namesake and cont'imporary 
of the first and most illustrious chronicler of Bohe- 
mia; a writer who takes rank with the most eminent 
historians who have rescued the obscure annals of their 
country's early history from the crass oblivion of rude- 
ness and contention. The selection of Cosmas reflected 
honor on the wisdom and patriotism of Vratislav. 
But toward the close of the year logi, Cosmas, and 
Andreas selected for the see of Olmiitz were dispatched 
together under escort of a count palatine to the em.- 
peror to Mantua. On the 4th of January the following 
year the usual investiture took place at the imperial 
residence. Some objection was raised by, the bishop 
of Miinster; but the Kaiser declared roundly that he 
would oblige his royal friend first and consider tech- 
nicalities afterward. The bishops elect remained in 
Verona until March, and then returned under protec- 



1 20 HI ST OR Y OF B O HE MI A 

tion of their escort, Count Rapoto. But the king did 
not survive to greet his episcopal friends. A fall from 
his horse in January 1092, during a hunting tour speedi- 
ly proved fatal. The mortal remains of a great ruler 
and warrior were deposited amid profound mourning 
in the recently erected collegiate church of Vyseliraad. 

Vratislav was a wise and valiant prince; one of 
the few great soldiers who united political sagacity 
and manly human feeling to brilliant military talents. 

During the reign of Vratislav Bohemia made great 
progress. The troops of Englishmen, Flemings, 
Frenchmen, Danes and Germans employed in her wars 
familiarized western Europe with her polity, her pa- 
triotism, and her prowess. The ancient municipal 
and electoral institutions which gave expression to 
the voice of her whole people in public parliament 
were explained, and no doubt lauded by thousands of 
brave and observant men from the Alps to the Tweed ; 
and the sentiments that inspired her undaunted pop- 
ulation were repeated with admiration, and treasured 
up to form the foundations of kindred national con- 
stitutions in the empires and island homes of the far 
west. The fellowship of comrades in war is a sacred 
feeling; and the national aspirations which impel a 
struggling people to the perils of an armed contest, 
become the beacon principles that soon blaze from 
the political cliffs and duns of their sympathizing 
allies During the eleventh centurj- Europe had not 
yet completely emerged from the "primus inter pares" 
principle among her princes. The old fraternity of 
race and origin was still a strong and stubborn feel- 
ing. The essential tribal relation of European pop- 
ulations governed the poiic}' of the great masses. The 
elective law was the fundamental law, though vio- 



BOHEMIA BECOMES A KINGDOM 121 

lated in many notable instances ; and as towns were 
few and charters scantily established, each landholder 
was a ruler in his own independent right. The in- 
crease of agricultural population on the large tracts 
owned by individual families, at a time when the soil 
was very sparsely occupied, gave pre-eminence to the 
representatives of the original proprietors, and lord- 
ships became common in course of time. But the 
sentiment of individual right was universal; and the 
struggles of small nations in the assertion of the com- 
mon law of independence were necessarily approved 
and applauded whenever the partakers in those strug- 
gles conve}'ed the tidings among their kinsmen. SoJ • 
diers are always keen observers, and in an age when 
knights and troubadours, or adventurers and bards 
abounded, the ambitions, valor, glories, and aspira- 
tions of Bohemia certainly formed no inconsiderable 
share in the evening narrations in verse and prose, 
that stirred the soul of the ambitious knight, fired the 
ardent expectation of the stripling, awoke the sympa- 
thy of the gentler maiden, and nourished the mind of 
the thinking statesman and patriot in the quiet homes 
along the Rhine, the Loire, the Thames, the Danube 
and the Tiber. We marvel when we find the senti- 
ments expressed in the clash of arms in one age re- 
echoed in another where we least expect to find them. 
Histories were few in those days ; but memor)' was 
strong and enquiry eager. Be it also remembered that 
during seven centuries Bohemia produced a very 
large proportion of the silver that supplied Europe 
not only with the basis of commerce but with the pay 
of soldiers; and not until the still more affluent supply 
from America suddenly enriched, and largely stupefied 
Europe also in the sixteenth century, did Bohemia 



122 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lose her place as the source of the chief Silver wealth 
of Europe. She could and did command the services 
of great armies when more populous and exten- 
sive countries were exhausted of men and means 
because she could pay stout adventurers from every- 
where. In that respect Bohemia was the best known 
country in the world. 

Like other warriors in every age from Rameses to 
Theodosius and Napoleon, Vratislav was the firm friend 
of knowledge. and of law. In his reign the arts and 
sciences were cultivated up to the full measure of 
the progress of the age. The coins struck by his order 
take high rank in design and execution. Painting was 
cultivated especially among the brethren who still re- 
tained the sentiment of Greek freedom and research 
in the convent of Sazava. The last abbot of that 
establishment, Bozetech, was well skilled in painting, 
sculpture, carving and lathe work; and the celebrated 
picture of the Virgin sent by the archdukes to the 
bishop of Passau in 1081, "Wonderfully executed in 
the Greek style," was but one sample of the art-skil- 
fulness of the period. 

The native Chekh were almost exclusivel}' agricul- 
turists whose wealth consisted chiefl}^ of horses and 
cattle. Jews, Italians and Germans monopolized com- 
merce; and the first named were then, as the}' still 
are, principally devoted to those pursuits that present 
the least obstacle to a change of abode. Hence they 
avoided all occupations necessarily interwoven with 
the integral constitution of the social life of the time. 
They took the cream, and kept aloof from those bur- 
dens connected with building up the framework of 
society. They never attempted to introduce any new 
idea, or supply motive power to enlarge the machinery 



B O HEM I A BE COMES A KIN GD OM 1 2 3 

of society. Their principle was devoted then, as it is 
now, to those practical details immediately associated 
with profits in trade. While others, and especially their 
Christian neighbors, expended much time and strength 
on sentimentalism and superstition, and neglected 
the elements of practical knowledge, as far too often 
they do still, the Jews studied the principles of finance, 
interest, discount, the rules that govern commercial 
relations. Hence while Christians dreamed of spirit- 
ual beings and divine interventions, the Jews investi- 
gated the means of making profit on exchanges, at home 
and abroad. They necessaril}' succeeded ; and as sen- 
timentalism is no match for skill in barter, the}' grew 
rich. Hence they were hated as they now are in Rus- 
sia, because Christian practical ignorance was not 
equal to Jewish practical knowledge. The only rem- 
edy is a less exclusive study of sentimentalism on the" 
part of Christians. In other words, during the period 
under review and for a long time afterward^ the Chris- 
tian system did not permit Christians to be the equals 
of Jews in business details. Hence the Jews worked 
on the edges of all industries, and withdrew the mov- 
able wealth from all. Their ignorant neighbors won- 
dered, or became furiously aggressive according to 
the temper of the time. The Jews' residence in Prague 
was in the judengarten ; and the ancient s_vnagogiie, 
still religiously preserved even to the dust under 
which it moulders, reminds every visitor to the city 
of the life within a life, and yet apart from it, that 
then specially distinguished a Jewish from every other 
community. The quarrels in the ducal famil}', and 
the contentions for political aspirations created a very 
large portion of the wealth of the Jews. They lent 
money for quarrels on the pledge of those lustrous 



1 24 HISTOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

pearls that are the emblems of modesty and peace.* 

Constant war, and the irritastion arising from Ger- 
man colonizing intrusiveness, then an active national 
policy in Germany, provoked a fierce retaliatory spirit, 
that found expression in the expedition against Mer- 
seberg. Thousands of the Saxon population of every 
age and sex were torn from their homes and sold into 
servitude in Hungar}^, a circumstance that explains 
the presence of the German element to this day among 
the surrounding Magyar population. 

As trades and handicrafts were at that period by no 
means universal and family surnames were chiefly de- 
rived from occupations, and the name of a village or 
district could provide a distinct appellation for very 
few persons, we need not wonder that in Bohemia, 
as elsewhere in central and western Europe, family 
surnames in the eleventh century were commonly un- 
known.! 

To Vratislav succeeded his brother Conrad then far 
advanced in life. The only act of his reign now re- 
membered was a request to Henry IV. for the union 
of the bishoprics of Prague and Olmiitz. But as the 
imperial word had been already pledged to the present 
occupants of those sees, it could not be revoked. Con- 
rad died in 1092; and his immediate family in a few 
years became extinct. | 

* Ibi judaei auro et argento plenissimi; ibi ex omni gento negotia- 
tores ditissimi; ibi monetarii opulentissimi: Cosmas. L. II., p 185. 

f Very few if any of the Norman invaders of England under Wil- 
liam in 1066 had any family name, and even Howard, a Saxon sur- 
name — is a modernization of Hog-ward. Seward is the Se-ward or 
Coast-guard of king Alfred. 

\ Chronicon Sazaviende in Scrip., ver. Boj. Cosmas Prag. Pulka- 
wa, Chron. Pegav. Bruno de Bel. Sax. Dalemil, vita Altman. 
Ep Pater ap, Pertz I. 



CHAPTER X. 

CLERICAL CELIBACY INTRODUCED INTO BOHEMIA — FIRST 

CRUSADE CIVIL WAR EDUCATION — GREAT VICTORY OVER 

THE GERMANS — RELIGIOUS SECTS. 

Bretislav, eldest son of the late King Vratislav, 
took formal possession of the crown in September 
1092. The commencement of his reign, after the cus- 
tomary public election, enthronization and festivities, 
was marked by a singular decree expelling from Bo- 
hemia the unwelcome people described as "soothsay- 
ers, sorcerers, and cheats," (Betruger,) who had ac- 
quired much influence over the simple folk by pre- 
tended divining arts in groves and woods. They were 
expelled from the country; and their haunts burned. 
These people were probably a tribe of gypsies who 
had associated their practices of stealing and fortune 
telling with the remnants of the old paganism. These 
wanderers came into prominence early in the fifteenth 
century; but bands of them had been found in Hun- 
gary, Poland and northern Greece long previous to 
that time. Their patois language was composed of 
Hungarian, Slavonian and Greek words; and some 
German was added at a later period. Even in the 
eleventh century their origin had been forgotten. 
Possibly the decease of the dreaded King Vratislav 
encouraged a migration into Bohemia. Their native 
place must have been east of Hungary. 

Bretislav directed his energies against Poland. But 

125 



126 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

as Vladislav, the prince regnant, was then involved in 
a contest with the Prussians he was unwilling to con- 
tend with two formidable adversaries at the same 
time; and therefore a peace was concluded by which 
Poland again submitted to the tribute claimed b}' Bo- 
hemia with all arrears then due ; and young Boleslav, 
a child of seven, was entrusted to Bretislav as a host- 
age for the faithful observance of his father's engage- 
merits. 

Meanwhile the bishops elect of Prague and Olmiitz 
remained without consecration ; and serious irregulari- 
ties appeared imminent as the consequence. Objections 
had been made to the selection of Cosmas; and further 
opposition was now experienced. The bishop elect 
enjoyed the unbroken confidence of all the intelligent 
classes in Bohemia; and had enjoyed it for nearly 
half a century. He was in all probability a married 
man; as may be inferred from the argument used by 
Bretislav in favor of Hermann, his chaplain, as suc- 
cessor to Cosmas himself after his decease in 1098, 
against objections to his foreign birth, that "not hav- 
ing been brought up in Bohemia and therefore not ac- 
customed to the domestic habits of the Bohemian 
clergy the care of his children would not distract his 
attention ;* a piece of thoroughly Roman casuistry. 
But in 1094 the iconoclasts of marriage were abroad; 
and with furious decretal axes, and denunciatory ham- 
mers they broke down the domestic sanctuaries, which 
the virtues of the apostles themselves had sanctioned 
by their own example. It is now necessary to reca- 
pitulate briefly the chief events in the great controversy 

* £t quia hospes est plus ecclesise prodest; non enim parentela ex- 
hauriet, non liberorum cura aggravabit; non cognatorum turba des- 
poliet. Cos. Prag. Chron. Lib III. Ann. 1098. Clearly married life 
was the rule among the Bohemian clergy of that day, 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 127 

that so powerfully influenced the destinies of Bohe- 
mia. 

A spirit of gnostic paganism, which found expres- 
sion partly in hostility to the bod}' and its divine for- 
mation, had early taken possession of certain zealots 
in the church. In imitation of the more logical orien- 
tal religious mendicants and fakirs, with whom dirt 
was equivalent to holiness, who smeared ashes and 
other viler things on their faces, and defiled themselves 
with all uncleanness in demonstration of their subju- 
gation of the senses,* the Christian ascetics perverted 
the very institution of their own existence by endeavors 
to root out the faculties and instincts that render man 
capable of virtue and love, and fill him with the warm 
feelings of kindly zeal in tender s\'mpathy with social 
and domestic loves and duties. The body came to be 
regarded, most illogically and stupidly, as an enemy 
to be crushed by every severity ; and when it became 
like charcoal as to all feelings, when it was no longer 
a body but a shape with every human attribute burned 
out of it, it was supposed to have attained perfection. 
Modern knowledge and wisdom have taught men the 
dignity, loveliness, and value of the body, have re- 
vealed its advance in virtue in proportion to its nat- 
ural completeness and healthy action, and consecrated 
its wonders as the basis of all active good. 

Rome adopted the principle of converting the clergy 
of every country into an ecclesiastical police as far re- 
moved as possible from the laity in social sympathies. 
Everywhere the married priests were denounced. Syn- 
ods decreed, and pulpits thundered. In Spain, France, 
Italy, England, Germany the ban of the church was 
hurled against married priests and their families. 

* Especially of smell. 



1 2 8 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

Preferments were denied to the sens of the clergy. 
Henry III. of Germany, in honest zeal lent himself 
unconscionsly to the creation of the new tyranny, and 
refused consent to the election of Cuno to the see of 
Reichstett, although recommended by Gebhard, bishop 
of Ratisbon in 1042, on the ground that Cuno was the 
son of a priest. The zeal of emperor and pope was 
still further stimulated by Damian then an ascetic at 
Avillana, and enjoying great reputation for sanctity. 
Germany was soon filled with denunciations of cler- 
ical marriage. In 1049 at the Council of Mayence the 
severest penalties were fulminated against the peace- 
able homes of the best ministers. The "nefanda sac- 
erdotum conjugia" were denounced as in all degrees 
accursed. The hand of Hildebrand the moving spring 
of everything at the court of Leo IX. is clearly dis- 
cernible in the proceedings at Mayence, and all 
through Europe henceforward. At a council held at 
Rheims about the same time, the marriage of priests 
had been also denounced, but without avail. The lan- 
guage used is cjear proof that n'larriage was universal 
among French priests. "The presbyters were forbid- 
den to have wives."* Nay with an excess of barbarism 
the shame and bitterness of slavery were heaped on 
the unhappy women. The prelates of Italy abstained 
from imposing penalties on the men and turned their 
venom on the wives. At a council held at Rome in 1051 
the confiding women whose God given love was hon- 
orably bestowed according to the prevailing law and 
the universal sanctions of time and of society, who 
saw their own sons priests, found themselves sud- 

* Tanden Leo Papa in Gallias A. D. 1049 venit. Tunc ibidem gen- 
erale concilium tenuit, et inter reliqua ecclesiae commoda quje insti- 
tuit presbyteris arma ferre et conjuges habere prohibuit. ' Orderic. 
Vit. P. II. Lib. V. C. 15. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 129 

denly made helots and criminals, cast out from all 
society, degraded and scorned, and declared Slaves 
to the Cathedral church of Lateran; while all the 
bishops in Europe were directed to apply the same 
awful scourge within their jurisdiction, and make the 
wives of the clergy slaves to the churches in every di- 
ocese * Many of these women were of gentle birth, 
gifted, dignified and unimpeachable. In 1053, an at- 
tempt to hold a similar . council at Mantua for the 
same purpose was frustrated by the followers of the 
prelates and clergy, and the pope himself nearly be- 
came a victim to the missiles of his angry assailants. 
Rome was still in the possession of a married priest- 
hood. Synod after synod was convened but without 
success. Nicholas II. at once seconded Damian and 
Hildebrand. In 1059 a new council denounced a mar- 
ried clerg}', and adopted the novel system of rendering 
the laity at once the judges and executioners of their 
pastors. This power was deliberately conferred, with 
the intention of revoking it when the laity should have 
placed over their own heads a power which they could 
no longer resist. From this time the wives of priests 
are no longer named "conjuges, " as they had been 
commonly styled previously; they are stigmatized as 
"concubinae". At Milfi, in Southern Italy, where 
sacerdotal marriages were universal, another council 
was held ;f and the bishop of Trani was deposed as 
a warning to the rest. In Tours and Vienne the an- 
cient seat of Greek literature, language, and christian 
civilization in France, similar decrees were promul- 

* Damiani opusc. XVIII. Diss. II. C, 7. 

f Hie ecclesiastica propter ad partes illas tractanda negotia venit; 
namque Sacerdotes, Levitae, Clericus omnis hac regione palam se con- 
jugio sociabant. Gulielmi Appuli de Normann. 



I30 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

gated; 1060; .open legislation and friendly exhortation 
were equally put in practice against the prelates; but 
the latter stoutly declared that they would not submit 
to the deprivation of their privileges as men and as 
Christians. 

In the same }'ear, 1060, again Nicholas promulgated 
a decree requiring priests to abandon their wives ; but 
no provision was made for the maintenance of the 
women and their children. 'In Tuscany the most prom- 
inent and learned ecclesiastics sustained the propriety 
and legality of their marriage ; declared it consonant 
to the ancient canons, and challenged the production 
of any argument in opposition to it. At this period 
the election of Alexander 11. as one pope, and of 
Honorius II. as another pope created contesting fac- 
tions ; the marriage or celibacy of the clergy cre- 
ated a party cry ; and the success of the one or the 
other decided the right or the wrong of the ecclesias- 
tical question. With the aid of the Lombards, Hon- 
orius besieged his rival in Rome. But his party as a 
political body became divided; and in 1067 Alexander 
secured the supremacy. Although Damian habitually 
stigmatized the women as harlots, and the husbands 
as fornicators, he was forced to admit the conjugal 
fidelity and dignity of the women, and the pious de- 
votion to their duties on the part of the men. 

The Piedmontese clergy were declared byhimself'to 
be a "chorus of angels and an illustrious senate* of 
the church. " 

In Dalmatia conjugal presbyters performed all the 
functions of the church ; and the decrees against mar- 

* Qui dum ad me confluerunt, tanquam chorus angelicus et velut 
conspicuus ecclesias videbatur enitere senatus. Opusc. XVIII. Diss, 
II. Pref. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 131 

riage were suspended because if enforced the entire 
ministration of the public services would have 
ceased.* The Venetians were more easily reached; 
and ih their case no indulgence was allowed. 

Up to the middle of the eleventh century marriage 
was universal among the clergy of Milan. The dis- 
sensions that distracted the city eventually divided 
the factions among the adherents, and opponents of 
celibacy. The nobles and married clergy on one side, 
and the humbler citizens more easily influenced by 
superficial fallacies on the other. Dissensions similar 
to those at Milan also shook Lucca, Farma, Reggio, 
and other Italian cities; and the question — to marry 
or not to marry, was deferred. In 1085 Henry IV. 
assembled his princes and prelates at Mayence, and 
celibacy of the clergy was declared the law of the em- 
pire. Urban II. repeated the decree of servitude against 
the wives of clerics, and offered the women themselves 
as bribes to those seculars who should enforce the 
infamous judgment. f 

During this century the English clergy were also as 
a rule married men. The bishop of Litchfield is es- 
pecially noted as having a wife and children accord- 
ing to ordinary church customs always maintained 
hitherto. At a council held in Winchester, 1076, 
priests were permitted to retain their wives, because 
Norman power could not then enforce a contrary de- 
cision. Unmarried men were forbidden to miarry ; at 
a great council in London in 1102, the new doctrine 
was violently denounced as un-christian and vicious. 

* "Omnes ecclesise a divinis officiis vacassent." Bathyani. Leg. 
Eccles. Hungar. I. 407. 

f Quod si ab episcopo commoniti non se correxerunt principibus 
licentiam induigemus ut eorum feminis mancipent servituti." Synod 
Mefit. Ann. loSg, Can. 12. 



132 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The canons of this council prove that all efforts to 
enforce celibacy were denounced as criminal, and anti- 
christian ; and one ver}' suggestive provision was in- 
troduced, that sons should not inherit their father's 
churches.* This enactment was directly applicable 
to Ireland at that time; for in that island, under the 
old Greek custom still prevailing there, the abbacies of 
many if not all of the great monastic establishments, 
each representing a clan, had become hereditary. In 
all countries in Europe the cry of celibacy became 
universal. 

In Hungary the rules affecting the clergy corre- 
sponded with those of the Greek church. Celibacy was 
first imposed in Dalmatia on the occasion of the as- 
sumption of the royal title by Duke Demetrius, Dal- 
matia being then a province of Hungary. 1076. Never- 
theless the clergy of Dalmatia followed their ancient 
law for at least a century later. The annals of the Syn- 
od of Dalmatia held in 1199 contain clear allusions 
to the universality of this condition of things. f Up to 
the same period the clergy of Poland were universally 
married men|. Still a century later the Swedish 
clergy were all married. § 

In Denmark and Friesland the same Greek princi- 
ple prevailed as late as the fourteenth century. In 
the latter province the deans were all married men, 
and on one occasion surrendered their children as 
hostages during a dispute with their bishop. Deaneries 

* Can. 8. "Ut filii presbyterorum non sint heredes ecclesiarum 
patrum suorum." Wilkins I. 382. 

f In partibus Dalmatia? et Diocletiae Sacerdotes et uxorem habere 
et ecclesias tenere, dicuntur. Synod Dalmatise 1199. Bathyani II. 
289 — 90. 

X Harduin T. VI. P. 11., p. 1937. 

§ Thomassin Discip,, de I'Eglise. P. IV. Lib. I., c. 45. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 133 

and benefices were commonly transmitted from father 
to son for generations. 

From this brief recital of the great controversy will 
be explained the position of the church of Bohemia 
during the same period. In that kingdom the domes- 
tic life of the clergy was the same as in all the sur- 
rounding countries. Bohemia had maintained her 
pristine rules in that respect; and those rules pre- 
vailed in all portions of the dependencies of the eastern 
empire, and its immediate extensions in Christian 
rites. It is true that Roman ecclesiasticism had be- 
come the policy of the court as the price by which 
ambition was promoted; but primitive customs and 
principles were still kept alive around the hospitabje 
board of the Bohemian thegn ; and national senti- 
ments were fed over a meal of boar or venison where 
the welcome gossip, trader or news-bearer received his 
recompense followed by a pallet of oak leaves round 
the great hearth of the common hall. No doubt the 
hamlets of Bohemia in the eleventh century, and 
the quiet homes of the rural clergy heard with as- 
tonishment and indignation the outrages perpetrated 
on the faithful and the pastors of other lands, and the 
truculence of inhumanity heaped on their unoffending 
wives and children. It is in such scenes and amon^ 
such humble homes that imperishable memories 
are accumulated. When at last the storm in all its 
fury burst over Bohemia itself the shock was terrible. 

That the minds of the people had always been fa- 
miliarized with the married life of priests is evidenced 
by the fact that Cosmas, the chronicler, a well known 
married man with a family, was elevated to the deaner}' 
of Prague during the very effervescence of the contest 
concerning celibacy in the disturbed countries of 



134 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Europe. This excellent man was made priest in logg, 
and his family grew up around him in the quiet vir- 
tue of domestic duties. His devoted wiie, Boseteha, 
who during a long life had proved herself a meet con- 
sort for a learned and pious priest, was withdrawn 
by death in 1118; and her husband records the de- 
parture of his faithful helpmate in words which show 
that domestic joy, and loving assistance and sympathy 
in his pastoral duties had always been his happy lot 
with her. Surely no simpler or more appropriate 
epitaph was ever engraved on the tomb of a loved and 
lost one than the gentle words; 

"Reruin cunctarum comes indimota mearum" 
"Bis Februi quinis obiit Boseteha Kalendis" 

"Companion of my life most dear 
Good Boseteha left me here 
Twice fifth of February's Kalends drear." 

During the long reign of Vratislav the convent of 
Sazava continued its chequered struggle for recogni- 
tion as an integral portion of the formal church or- 
ganization. But the known unfavorable reply of Greg- 
ory VII. to Vratislav's application created a feeling 
of coldness among some of the advocates of Bohemian 
literature. The temper of the time, the loss of favor 
of the prince, the dominant court influence, created 
opportunities for hostility. Toward the close of 1096 
the establishment was closed to the Greek rite. The 
books were scattered, and eventually lost and de- 
stroyed ; and Latin became the sole means of address- 
ing heaven in Bohemia,* 

The first year of Bretislav's reign found Bohe- 
mia and Poland at war on account of arrears of trib- 

* See the reply of Pope John VIII., to Svatopluk already noticed. 




CosMAS, Dean of Prague. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 135 

ute due from the latter. With such dreadful fury was 
the brief struggle carried on that on this side of the 
Oder in all Selesia not a habitation remained. The 
Polish prince and his allies — Ladislav of Hungary and 
a noble of Moravia were speedily reduced ; and the 
diversion directed against Moravia by the king's son 
and nephew completed the discomfiture of the Poles. 
Sixty marks of gold and one thousand of silver sat- 
isfied present demands; and security was given for 
future good behavior. 

The religio-military enthusiasm that convulsed all 
Europe and a part of Asia and Africa in the year 1096 
despatched a host of undisciplined pilgrims through 
Eastern Europe toward the holy land. France, Ger- 
many, Italy and England poured forth their multitudes 
across Bohemia and Hungary. The Jews of Prague 
felt the first effects of this fanatical fury. Under 
threat of death they were compelled to accept baptism. 
Bowing their heads to the storm, and accepting a rite 
that symbolizes cleanliness, the Jews submitted in 
outward obedience, as the supple grass or the tough 
reed bends to the passing blast. Bretislav was then 
in Silesia and no authority existed equal to the oc- 
casion at Prague. The unwelcome visitors were dis- 
missed as rapidly as possible. Apprehensive of an- 
other swarm from the same hive the Jews prepared to 
emigrate. Bretislav was unwilling that the portable 
wealth of the Jews should be all suddenly removed 
from the country; and he seized and confiscated it. 
The country could not afford to lose at once the chief 
portion of its coin. Bretislav probably reasoned that 
a people of alien race, necessarily excluded by their 
very birth from intrinsic identification with the great 
body of citizens, could not be permitted to draw off 



1 36 HIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

the cream while the native toilers were allowed only 
the skimmed milk of the general wealth. 

Family dissension between the royal dukes soon 
disturbed Bohemia, Poland, Moravia, and Hungary. 
Bretislav disregarded the pragmatic sanction that con 
ferred the crown on the eldest survivor. He selected 
Borziwoj as his successor in disregard of his brother 
Conrad's son Ulrich. Bretislav fell by the hand of an 
assassin while on a hunting expedition in iioo and 
Borziwoj at once seized the government. Ulrich ap- 
pealed to Henry IV., who extended his "moral sup- 
port," accepted his money, but requested him to fight 
his own battles. Ulrich and his kinsmen collected a 
force in Austria and Bavaria; but on the eve of bat- 
tle these mercenaries deserted, and Ulrich seized their 
booty and supplies. After this disappointment Ulrich 
retired to Moravia and lived in peace. 

The river Regen saw Borziwoj and Leopold, duke 
of Austria, united in support of Henry IV. against the 
rebellion of young Henry. But the defection of the 
selfish Austrian deprived the old Emperor of one wing 
of his army, and the Boheinian prince prudently re- 
treated. Henry IV. wandered away from the scene 
of his downfall crushed in spirit and almost unat- 
tended. Directing his lonely way through Bohemia 
and Saxony, the Emperor reached the Rhine cities 
where again he was placed on the throne by the gen- 
erous aid of the citizens who had known^ his favor. 
He breathed his last at Liictich in 1106, August 7. 

About this period Svatopluk of Moravia completed 
his preparations against Bohemia in his own interest; 
and he invaded the latter country toward the close of 
1 105. The strong places were at first faithfully held; 
and for a time the invader was unsuccessful. But 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 137 

Svatopluk excelled in intrigue; his adherents in- 
creased, and Borziwoj saw his power melt away. In 
the early summer of 1107 Svatopluk was installed in 
Prague. Borziwoj appealed to Henry V. and this 
monarch exacted a compensation in money in return 
for aid, material or moral. Svatopluk was summoned 
to appear and answer for himself, and was imprisoned 
forthwith. Finding the power of money in politics 
Svatopluk bid still higher than his competitor; and 
ten thousand silver marks became the price of the Bo- 
hemian throne. To raise this sum of money every 
method of rapacity was employed ; the altars were 
ransacked, the women were despoiled of their-orna- 
ments, and private accumulations were remorselessly 
pillaged. Naturally the heaviest exactions fell on the 
Jews ; and still the promised sum was not forthcom- 
ing. But Svatopluk's infant son was named Henry; 
and the German monarch concluded to remit the bal- 
ance due, and take payment in the skill and valor of 
his successful ally against King Koloman of Hungary. 
The united Poles and Hungarians found an ally in 
Borziwoj; and the latter led an invading force into 
Bohemia. The powerful clan of Vrsovici had been 
entrusted with the defense of the country ; but they 
yielded so easily that treachery was more than sus- 
pected. Borziwoj for three days wasted and destroyed 
his own land ; and these tidings were soon conveyed 
to Svatopluk before Presburg. In his dreadful wrath 
the returning chief vowed every member of the Vrso- 
vici to death; but prudently concealed his design. 
Henceforth they were all McGregors to him. Not 
with more art arfd duplicity did Mahmoud destroy the 
Janissaries, or Mehemet Ali the Mamelukes in a sub- 
sequent age than did Svatopluk proceed against the 



138 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Vrsovici. In one hall in the ancient but now ob- 
literated burg of Vratislav they were almost all mas- 
sacred together.* 

Koloman meantime fell on Moravia and Svatopluk 
hastened to its defense but lost an eye in a thicket and 
was obliged to return. Next year he gained some 
success against Hungary; and the year following we 
find him an ally of Henry V. in the disastrous expe- 
dition against Poland. While returning to his quarters 
from the imperial tent the brave but truculent Svat- 
opluk was assassinated by a partizan of the Vrso- 
vici. His iron valor and military resource secured 
the strong confidence and attachment of his army; and 
his death was greatly lamented. M?iny candidates 
claimed the succession ; but Duke Vladislav was recog- 
nized and became sovereign in October, 1 109. During 
these proceedings Bohemia was greatly wasted, and 
impoverished. Vratislav, Bretislav, Borziwoj and 
Swatopluk all purchased German favor and paid full 
and more than full value for it. The empire made no 
interference with their internal management or ex- 
ternal quarrels and was far more dependent on their 
friendship than capable of conferring favor. 

Vladislav received an invitation to attend Henry at 
Ratisbon ;t but he had only reached Pilsen when tid- 
ings were brought that Borziwoj had made a sudden 
incursion against Prague. Being secretly encouraged 
and now openly assisted b}' adherents in the city, 
Borziwoj easily obtained possession. Forthwith the 
greatest confusion prevailed. Many citizens retired 

* This act was committed under the direct instigation of Henry 
V. "Rex (Henriucs) Suetipolco consuluit, ut omnes primates, qui 
Wosowice dicebantur decollaret, illeque paruit. Chron. Pegavius. vita 
Viperti 1., c, p 23. 

f Stransky, 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 139 

with their families and movable property; but the 
partizans of the new rvpawoi at once plundered the 
houses of the refugees. The fortress of Vysehraad 
was also seized. Bohemia and Moravia were at that 
moment divided and convulsed by the rival and con- 
testing factions of Vladislav, Borziwoj, and Otto of 
Olmiitz, brother of Svatopluk, aided by Count Macek, 
who seems to have arisen from humble station to be- 
come by force of character almost an umpire between 
factions. Vladislav united his force with Otto and 
Macek before Vysehraad; but in the meantime Henry 
had summoned all parties before himself for final ad- 
justment of the dispute. Borziwoj was condemned, 
and Vladislav, finding himself again master of Prague, 
proceeded to wreak his vengeance on the faction who 
had despoiled his friends. The country was thus 
plunged into most cruel civil war, wherein fathers 
and sons, brothers and brothers found themselves 
contending with each other in deadly strife over the 
thresholds of their own doors, and over the bodies of 
kindred slaughtered in the fury of partizan animosity. 
Boleslav of Poland intensified and widened the strife 
by active interference in Bohemia on behalf of Bor- 
ziwoj ; and young Sobieslav burned and destroyed 
apparently in mere wantonness, believing that victory 
was no victory if not accompanied by waste and de- 
struction. At length in A. D. 11 13, Vladislav and 
Macek succeeded in expelling Sobieslav; and the war 
closed for a time. In the same year Otto, surnamed 
the Black, was confirmed in his dominion over Ol- 
miitz, and having married the duke's sister, Sophia 
Countess of Berg, lived henceforth in peace with 
Bohemia. 

In 1 1 15 a general pacification was effected between 



I40 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the chief branches of the house of Przemysl; and Vlad- 
islav, Sobieslav, Otto, and Boleslav of Poland held a 
meeting in vSilesia where amity was mutually estab- 
lished. The depth of this alliance was demonstrated 
in the following year. Stephen II. had succeeded 
Koloman as King of Hungary. A dispute arose be- 
tween the followers of Vladislav and Stephen on the 
occasion of a meeting between the two sovereigns. 
Blows succeeded j a general battle followed; and Otto 
and Sobieslav by a desperate attack on the Hungarian 
camp gained a complete victory, and "to the victors 
belonged the spoils." Reprisals followed against Mora- 
via and even Austria; but at length in 1119 a united 
effort of the Bohemians and Austrians effectually 
cleared the country of the intruders. The following 
year a sudden revolution placed Borziwoj again for a 
brief space of time in power at Prague; but a few years 
later this prince died in exile.* Before the close of 
his life Vladislav's authority was well established ; 
and his power was felt not only over all the subjects 
of the realm in common respect, but on all the mem- 
bers of his own restless family. He died on the 12th 
of April, 1 125. Vladislav was a good prince, strong 
in mental and physical qualities; the turbulence of 
his time did not render him vindictive, and the stern 
vicissitudes of war, often unfavorable and oppressive 
to him personally, did not render him cruel. His 
frankness and manly openness of disposition secured 
him strong friendships even in the darkest prospects 
of his life. This experience speaks equally in praise 
of the generous self-sacrifice that distinguished the 

• * "Sed non diuturnum fuit hoc Berziwogii gaudium. Offensa 
namque Germanorum in aula ejus multitudine proceres Bojemi ma:g 
istratum ei denuo abrogant; et Wladislav res suas iterum (an 1120- 
submittunt." Stransky Boj. Rep., c. VIII. s. XXV. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMTA 141 

great body of his countrymen who admired and sus- 
tained him. During his reign Bohemia partook of the 
general movement then beginning to be felt in Europe 
toward the revival of letters. Many schools were es- 
tablished in the country. Cosmas, dean of Prague, imi- 
tated the example of many chroniclers whose assiduity 
has preserved for us the annals of that troubled pe- 
riod. The light of learning began to spread again. 
Law and politics were studied and treatises written, 
Theology assumed many phases in the minds of sep 
arate communities. Old principles were again aS' 
serted;; and the intercourse of nations brought to light 
numerous bodies of worshipers who had retained the 
faiths and formulae of earlier ages. An unbroken se- 
ries of religious links was found to have connected 
the twelfth with the primitive centuries; and the mar- 
tyrs of succeeding ages were only the descendants of 
the obscure believers whom the discords of princes, 
and the contentions of popes had left untouched in 
the obscure retreats where they had long lingered. 
The most startling dogmas of modern creeds were not 
yet formulated as articles of .faith ; and the simple 
inquiries of modest fraternities were more directed to 
the individual relations of men with the unseen, and 
with each other, than with the haughty claims of 
dignitaries or hierarchies. 

The quarter of a century last reviewed was eminent- 
ly productive of vigorous reasoning on politics and 
religion in Bohemia as elsewhere. The Kmets, Lechs, 
and Vladykas of that land who observed public affairs 
had found one Roman prelate intrusive enough to pre- 
scribe domestic policy to their hero prince ; and they 
had seen the same prelate driven from his place, and 
dying a fugitive and an exile. The lesson of resistance 



142 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

to the successors of the same prelate was not lost. 
They saw the son and successor of the modern Ro- 
man emperor encouraged in parricidal rebellion against 
his father by the professed teachers of filial respect 
and obedience, a circumstance exceedingly common 
in the eldest sons of princes in those da3's. They had 
seen popes and anti-popes excommunicating each 
other, and waging furious war for the most sacred 
dignities. Their respect for a theocracy was* not 
thereby increased. They had observed thrice-sworn 
oaths absolved and all the obligations of nature and 
religion deliberately violated under the direct advice 
and encouragement of the chief prelate in western Chris- 
tendom; and they had seen righteous retribution vis- 
ited on the head of the instigator of all this evil — 
Pope Paschal II. by the hand of the same Henry V., 
the vicious pupil of a vindictive teacher. The admi- 
ration of Bohemians for pope and emperor was not 
augmented. On the contrary the veneration of the 
people for their own institutions in politics and re- 
ligion was certainly strengthened. The distant dwell- 
ers beyond the Bohmerwald heard with astonishment 
and disgust of the vices and profligacy abounding in 
those very seats presided over by foreign aspirants 
who assumed in Bohemia a spirit of arrogant dictation. 
The feeling thus created became intensified as the 
centuries rolled on. The sharp contrast between the 
religious disorders surrounding the papal chair and 
the pretensions to superior sanctity and authority of 
the occupants of that chair did not escape attention. 
In the midst of all this bloodshed and contention Bo- 
hemians learned to view with respect and welcome the 
unobtrusive tenets and lives of the many obscure broth- 
ers and disciples who were found in Lombardy, France, 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 143 

Moravia, Germany, Belgium, Dalmatia, and who 
traveled in peace and charity on their errand of quiet 
devotion, and assertion of what they deemed the prim- 
itive gospel. Such quiet remnants had never disap- 
peared totally from Europe; and at this period had 
become numerous and enterprising. Bohemian, Polish 
and Hungarian traders knew of these communities es- 
pecially in Italy and Southern France not at all as 
separatists, but as the messengers of what they al- 
leged to be the primitive creed of Christianity una- 
dulterated by modern incrustations. Bohemians in 
their journeys for war and trade necessarily came in 
contact with these professors in Germany and Italy; 
and each already possessed much sympathy for the 
principles of the other. The quiet propagandists most 
probably made friends and disciples among the sturdy 
troopers of Vratislav and Svatopluk, especially as 
both parties had good reason to complain of ecclesias- 
tical innovations in religion, and aggressiveness in 
politics. The way was prepared daily for the wider 
distribution of the principles of these votaries toward 
the close of this and through all the following century 
in Bohemia and elsewhere. The prevalence of a large 
anti-Roman spirit east of Germany was well known, 
especiall}^ as many of the princes of Bohemia, Poland 
and Hungary afforded welcome and shelter to men 
driven from their homes in France and Germany by 
the persecutions that raged all through the eleventh 
and twelfth centuries, especially in the cities along 
the Rhine.* 

* Religiosi ex Galliis, Germain aque profligati, Petri Waldi discip- 
uli, viri turn pietate turn Sacrarum literarum scientia spectatissimi 
(A.n 1176) in Bojemiam venirent; et permultos ex qualis qualis turn 
adhuc. Groeci observantiae incolas familiares sibi facerent, Stransky 
Boj. Rep., ch. VI., sec. V , et refer. 



1 44 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MI A 

Why all these persecuted people fled to Bohemia 
and Poland and Dalmatia is explained by the well 
known fact that these countries had not been Roman- 
ized; and still maintained an attitude decidedl}^ anti- 
papal. The fugitives found the populations ready to 
sympathize with them at once. 

The growtii of municipalities and chartered liberties 
in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England, cor- 
responded to the essential principles of Bohemian insti- 
tutions. As the Chekh nationality was the first con- 
stituted, so it continued the longest,* amid the gen- 
eral breakup that followed the supremacy of the theo- 
cratic principle in the church, and speedily also in 
the state as the image and silhouette of the church. 

The reign of Sobieslav who succeeded to the throne 
was marked by proofs of the influence of the advanc- 
ing forces of education, and civil and formal liberty. 
Henry V. was followed by Lothaire II. of Saxony, 
elected on the field of Kamba, August 24, 1125, in the 
presence of a tumultuous assembly of sixty thousand 
men. Otto of Olmiitz at once applied to thejiew em- 
peror for recognition as Bohemian sovereign. But 
Sobieslav declared when the tidings of this new alli- 
ance reached him, "I hope by the mercy of God and 
the aid of Saint Wenzel and Saint Adalbert that our 
land shall never fall into the power of the stranger. " 
The German army advanced by way of Kulm in the 
valley of Toplitz ; and the utter defeat oi his forces, 
the death of many of his princes, bishops and abbots, 
and above all the fall of Otto himself with all his 
immediate followers convinced Lothaire of the dread- 
ful temerity of his enterprise. The Emperor himself 
was surrounded, and his entire force killed or taken. 

* See Hallam — Middle Ages. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 145 

This great battle was an anticipation of Hohenlinden, 
and fought under similar circumstances. The imperial 
troops were entangled in the woods, and slaughtered 
ere they could extricate themselves. In the morning 
of that fatal i8th of Februar)^, 11 26, 

"AH bloodless lay the untrodden snow." 
In the evening-; — 

-'And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide 
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; 
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf 
And as cold as the spray of the rock beating surf, 

"And there lay the rider distorted and pale 
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail." 

The chivalry of Germany had fallen before the free 
tillers of the allodial farms of Bohemia. 

But Sobieslav was too prudent not to avail himself 
of this most favorable opportunity to cultivate the 
friendship of his formidable contemporary. Lothaire 
became an honored guest at Vysehraad ; and the favor 
of the Emperor was secured in support of Sobieslav's 
son as successor in Bohemia. The kingdom was also 
confirmed in all its national rights and privileges un- 
der its own constitution and autonomy. In return a 
Bohemian army lent powerful aid to Lothaire in his 
disputes with Conrad the Frank. 

During this reign several frontier fortresses were 
erected. The homely wooden structures that consti- 
tuted the dwellings of Prague and elsewhere, were as 
far as possible replaced by more statel}^ edifices of 
stone built in the Italian style. Up to this time a 
polished stone floor did not exist in the country and 
the introduction of one into Vysehraad was regarded 
as a marvel' of progress. 

Sobieslav strove to conciliate the kings of Poland 



146 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and Hungary ; and the members of his own family 
fully acknowledged his suzerainty. Prevailing do- 
mestic peace rendered the occasion favorable for the 
assembling of all the councillors of the kingdom; and 
in 1 130 a full parliament and court judicial combined 
was held at Vysehraad. This assembly was attended 
by three thousand men, each in his place a represen- 
tative. The proceedings were opened with a royal 
speech from Sobieslav in person ; and the estates were 
requested to arrange the articles of accusation of cer- 
tain conspirators who were men of high rank. Some 
underwent the punishment of the wheel; others pro- 
tested innocence and endured the hot iron ordeal. But 
not escaping unharmed they were beheaded. Prince 
Bretislav in whose interest this crime had been at- 
tempted was, according to the custom of the time de- 
prived of sight. Taking advantage of contention be- 
tween Poland and Hungary, Sobieslav marched against 
the former in 1132 to exact payment of the tribute now 
over due. During this expedition and another the fol- 
lowing year, Silesia was dreadfull}^ wasted; hundreds of 
villages destroyed; and plunder of every kind carried 
off to Bohemia. Emperor Lothaire asked and obtained 
auxiliaries for his expedition into Italy in 1137; but 
he died in December of that year. The same good 
relations were maintained with Conrad of Hohenstaufen 
during his quarrels with Henry the Proud, and the 
Saxons; and at the siege of Wiensberg, December 21, 
1140, the Bohemian auxiliaries found themselves shout- 
ing for "Waiblingen" against "Welf. " Two years 
previously Sobieslav had assembled a Snem (Landtag) 
at Latzka, where partly by requests and partly by 
menaces* he persuaded the assembly to ratify the 
* Pelzel I. 93. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 147 

selection of his son Vladislav as heir to the throne. 
Sobieslav died February 14, mo, and his devoted 
consort Adeleid on the 15th of September following. 

This reign was marked by the foundation of several 
Roman conventual establishments ; and the addition 
of the Pumonstratensians to the Benedictines. But 
this circumstance did not for the time much influence 
the established order, inasmuch as Heinrich Zdik, son 
of dean Cosmas the chronicler, was elected and with- 
out any difficulty consecrated bishop of Olmiitz. The 
native exclusiveness was still very strong; and So- 
bieslav was enabled, and to all appearance, forced by 
public opinion to interdict the holding of all public 
offices by foreigners. 

Vladislav II. succeeded ;* but the discontents against 
the growing power of the crown that were scarcely 
altered in the former reign now found formidable 
expression. The great barons said, as others have 
said since, that the "royal authority was increasing, 
and ought to be diminished." Under the leadership 
of Nazerat who was then the Earl of Salisbury of 
Bohemia, the barons confederated; and assumed to 
elect Conrad of Znaim to the throne. But Vladislav 
was made of sterner stuff than his enemies antici- 
pated. f A desperate fight occurred at Prague wherein 
many were sacrificed on both sides, and Nazerat killed. 
Conrad could not obtain decisive advantage, and 
Vladislav defended the city. The confederates pressed 
the siege with vigor; but their efforts were unavailing, 
although a portion of the city was burned. 

The bishop of Olmiitz thundered an interdict against 

* This Prince does not appear to have finally secured the royal 
dignity for nineteen years — until A. D. 1139 . 

f "Vir ingenio validus, viribus propollens, consilio, manu, acie- 
que magnus" is the contemporary description. 



148 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the barons; and Pope Innocent II. sustained it. The 
nobles on their part declared the bishop a public ene- 
my, and appropriated his revenues. In the year fol- 
lowing Vladislav assembled his forces; and falling 
furiously on the confederates routed them completely. 
The chief offenders were compelled to humble them- 
selves before the angry prince with swords hanging at 
their necks; but their lives were spared, and Conrad, 
Otto, and Vratislav were restored to their possessions. 
In T143 Pope Innocent II. despatched Cardinal Guido 
to Bohemia to reform the clergy; but after two years 
and a half he found little accomplished to his mind. 
His mission was not popular; the memory of similar 
visitations in other lands was recent and odious; and 
passive resistance obstructed all his proceedings. The 
marriage of the Bohemian clergy was one of the chief 
objects of the cardinal's visit. All married priests 
were required to abandon their wives or their bene- 
fices. The clergy of Bohemia regarded their marriage 
as perfectly lawful and canonical. Jurata, provost 
of Prague —formerly chancellor of Vratislav I. — -the 
dean Peter; Hugo, provost of Vyserhaad; Thomas, 
dean of Olmiitz, and many others, the most learned 
pious, and exemplary of all the priesthood, men who 
enjoyed national reputation as Christian ministers, 
and the most conversant with canonical law, were all 
married men, as their predecessors from St. Peter 
down had been. 

The administrative attention of Vladislav was en- 
gaged in Moravia when on a sudden the whole of 
Christendom was deafened by a shriek for another 
crusade. The successful assault on the fortress of 
Edessa, the christian stronghold that defended Jeru- 
salem strategically, stimulated Christendom. Godfrey 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEMIA 149 

of Bouillon's kingdom was overthrown ; and all Europe 
was loudly ordered rather than entreated by Eugenius 
III. to take arms. The tornado of excitement that 
convulsed western Europe on the fall of Edessa swept 
over E jhemia. Prince and noble, Zupan and Vlad- 
ayka were all equally impelled eastward. Prelates 
and nobles from the Adriatic to the Baltic crowded 
to the standards of Louis VII. and Conrad; Vladislav 
and his brother Henry, his nephew Spityhnev, and a 
great array of followers assembled under Conrad in 
Austria. Only a small portion of this great host 
reached Palestine. The chancellor Bartholomew fell 
and Marshal Zurik was made prisoner and never heard 
of again. Vladislav separated from the French in Asia 
Minor and returjied by Constantinople and Kiew. 
During this disastrous expedition zealots were taught 
that the mundane blessings of order, foresight, dis- 
cipline, and a commissariat, as well as the philosophy 
and worldly wisdom necessary for the command of an 
army, cannot be supplied by empty fanaticism and 
ignorance, however fervid in devotions. The cry, 
"The army of the Lord" creates neither bread nor 
strategy. Rarely has an overthrow been more dread- 
ful. The Bohemians returned in deep disgust at the 
blind infatuation that set conceited fanaticism where 
precise military arrangements ought to have been. 

The election of Frederic Barbarossa to the German 
throne constitutes an epoch in the story of Bohemia. 
To great talents and energy Frederic united a splen- 
did presence and vast possessions. He was the incar- 
nation of concentrated imperialism. In the further- 
ance of his ambition to restore the empire of the west 
to its unlimited supremacy, he allied himself with 
Vladislav and the pope, both of whom had conten- 



I50 HISTORY OF BO HE Ail A 

tions different from his, and he disappointed both. 
Not from love for Eugenius did Frederic cross the 
Alps. His design was to crush utterly the strong 
spirit of political and philosophical independence that 
had arisen in Europe. The power and opulence of 
the free cities could have presented great obstacles; 
but their jealousies and contentions were equal to 
an alliance with the invader. 

Before proceeding on his second expedition Fred- 
eric prudently effected a settlement of the dispute be- 
tween Henry of Bavaria and Henry of Austria up to 
that time a marquisate of the former. By the fatal 
suggestion of Vladislav the march was severed from 
the other territory of Bavaria; and from this date the 
dukedom of Austria assumed a definitive member- 
ship among the states of Europe; September nth, 
1156. The price of Vladislav's assistance was an en- 
gagement to confirm the kingly dignity; and at a 
diet held at Ratisbon, nth of January, 1158, the 
promise was fulfilled and Vladislav obtained recogni- 
tion as King of Bohemia, On this occasion the royal 
cognizance was changed from- an eagle to a lion; and 
in this form it has continued.* But the service ren- 

* Ab eodem igitur Csesare Ratisbonse principnm imperii conven- 
tum agente, creatus propterea est Rex et (sicut Hostivitus olim) salu- 
tatus Imperii socius, pro Aquila Leonem in insignibus gestandum 
accepit." Stransky Reip. Boj , De Prin XXVII. 

On the subject of this change from an eagle to a lion much quaint 
learning has been expended, All agree that the eagle was black on a 
white field. Some assert that Chekh and Lekh were brothers, and 
that Lekh assumed the white eagle afterwards. Some refer the 
assumption of the lion to Bretislav when he became son-in-law of 
Otto II. Others again declare that the cognizance in 1370 was three 
flames with a black eagle in the midst, all on a white field This 
eagle is referred to a victory over Aureolus a Roman consul in Illyri- 
cum The three flames again are pronounced a misinterpretation of 
three bands with wavy lines to signify the three rivers crossed by the 
Chekh, and that these were borne on a round shield. These bands 
w^re the cognizance of Boleslaus IT., both on his shield, his banner, 
Jiad his seal. Frederic I., certainly conferred on King Vladislav a 



CLE RICA L CEL IB A CY IN B O HE MI A 1 5 1 

dered against the young and prosperous cities could 
not have been tasteful to the Bohemian. The pope 
favored the cities, not from any love for them or the 
spirit that animated their recent politics, but as con- 
venient allies for his own purposes. Vladislav event- 
ually found favor with none. 

With deep regret must this story record the fact 
that a Bohemian force took part in two most tragic 
events during this reign in Italy. The painful his- 
torical episode presented by the rise, the greatness, 
the premature economies, and the dreadful fall of 
Arnold of Brescia necessarily produced in Bohemia 
an impression both profound and continuous. The 
same political ethics, the same actual relations be- 
tween Church and State that had ruled Bohemia for 
five centuries at least, had found eloquent expres- 
sion from the political apostle of Italy, and cordial 
acceptance from the most intelligent and progressive 
of her manufacturing and mercantile communities. 
Practical good sense instead of abstract theories and 
theocratic delusions, had become the governing prin 
ciple; and Arnold applied the same rule to the sub- 
ordination and duties of ecclesiastics. His political 
philosophy was simply "Each man in his place;" and 
for these doctrines he was consigned to a cruel and 
ignominious murder, by a coarse priesthood, and the 
ferocity of an autocratic barbarian. The cities event- 
ually triumphed over Frederic and all his panoplies. 
Even Milan rose from her obliteration before his 

banner bearing on a white field a tawny lion. The astrologers placed 
Bohemia under the sign Leo; and denominated the people Leonistoe. 
The lion denotes Bohemia. As to the forked tail again, some assert 
that it refers to the great courage of the nation, the tail of the lion 
being so hard as to strike fire with flint! Others agiin say it refers to 
the qualities of courage and firmness. The principles of heraldry 
would explain the double tail as referring to the two fold kingdom of 
Bohemia and Moravia. 



152 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

eyes;* the logic of Arnold lived on in the free life of 
every self-governing community; and in no place with 
more tenacity of adhesion than among the institutional 
population who preserved the national laws and man- 
ners along the banks of the Moldau and the Elbe. 

Royal dignities did not confer either happiness or 
success on Vlatislav. The old national separateness 
was being obliterated in some quarters. The free 
alliances with Russian, Serbian and Greek families 
that had distinguished Chekh nobles and princes were 
in many cases found to be less politic, perhaps less pos- 
sible, under the unifying force of crusading impulses, 
and the crushing autocrac}' of the formidable empire 
of the West. Under the sense if not the very terms of 
his understanding with Frederic, Vlatislav provided a 
strong contingent of troops for each invasion of Italy 
undertaken by the imperious Frederic. The ten thou- 
sand Bohemians who had marched by the way of Trent 
to the field of Roncaglia were rapidly smitten down 
by disease and the waste of war. As usual they had 
borne themselves like strong men, although their val- 
or was wasted against the natural allies of their nation. 
The few who returned with Vlatislav to Prague in 
September, 1158, must have carried with them to their 

homes strange and thrilling tales of the popular ex- 
* Possibly Macchiavelli may have had the memorable scene to 
Apiil 27, 1167, when the inhabitants of other cities escorted the peo- 
ple of Milan back to its ruins, as to another Jerusalem, before his 
memory when he wrote, "And whoever becomes master of a city that 
has been accustomed to liberty, and does not destroy it, must expect 
himself to be ruined by it, for they will always resort to rebellion in 
the name of liberty and their ancient institutions, which will never 
be effaced from their memory, either by the lapse of time, or by ben- 
efits bestowed by the new master. No matter what he may do, or 
what precautions he may take, if he does not separate and disperse 
the inhabitants, they will on the first occasion invoke the name of 
liberty, and the memory of their ancient institutions, as was done by 
Pisa after bavins:; been held over a hundred years in subjection by the 
Florentines " The Prince, chap. V. A ferocious sentiment, and one 
that signally failed in the very instance presented in illustration of it. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY In BOHEMIA 153 

citement, the universal enthusiasm created by the 
doctrines of Arnold. The electric force of his appeals, 
the fervor that resulted in men's minds, the revolu- 
tion in sentiment and policy which he had created, 
and the new life that he stimulated must have formed 
a theme of endless discussion in Bohemia, by the men 
who had visited the scenes, and witnessed the results 
of his manly and reasonable expostulations. And yet 
they had been commissioned to smite it all down, and 
aid in consigning its gifted promoter to an ignomin- 
ious double death. Not once only but again and again 
Bohemian auxiliaries were summoned and sent to co- 
erce the reformatory Italians; but the duty was dis- 
tasteful to Vlatislav; and his brother Diepold and his 
son Frederic were sent forward on the unwelcome mis- 
sion. In 1 162 Vlatislav was himself a participator, 
however, in the general proceedings that led to the 
barbarous burning of Arnold. He did not share per- 
sonall}' in the razing of Milan: although one thousand 
Bohemians assisted in the siege. 

It is probable that pressure from the West formed 
a chief reason for interference in the disputes that 
arose in 1164 between Hungary and Constantinople. 
Vlatislav lent aid to the former in the interest of Ste- 
phen III, brother-in law of young Frederic and 
Svatopluk of Bohemia. Through the vigorous support 
of his auxiliaries Stephen succeeded, and was placed 
firmly on the throne of Constantinople. This expedition 
was wise political strategy. A marriage arrangement be- 
tween Vlatislav's granddaughter and Peter Comnenus, 
grandson of the emperor, was a further result of the 
good understanding which it was hoped would strength- 
en Bohemia on that side. 

Again a Bohemian force marched in aid of Frederic 



1 54 HI ST OR Y OF B O HE MI A 

in his contention with Italy in 1167. But in that year 
Diepold and bishop Daniel died of the plague at the 
siege of Ancona. 

The death of this prelate severed the bond that had 
united the German and Bohemian courts. His suc- 
cessor Gotthard died almost immediately; and the 
next choice was Adalbert a person displeasing to Fred- 
eric. The aims of the German and the Chekh were 
not found to be identical; and cold distrust was the 
result on both sides. Finding himself growing in 
years, and touched with infirmities, Vlatislavwas anx- 
ious to secure the peaceable succession of his son 
Frederic. He knew the temper of his kindred; and 
he knew also that Frederic would not scruple to take 
advantage of family dissensions among the Premysls 
to promote his own despotism. In order the better 
to secure the succession to his son Vlatislav abdicated 
in 1 173; and retired to a residence within the mon- 
astery of Strahov, where he hoped to end his days in 
peace Finally he retired to the estates of his queen 
in Thuringia where he died in 1174, surrounded by 
his family. 

Vlatislav's campaign as a crusader necessarily made 
him and his officers familiar with the combination of 
religious and military ardor that resulted in the embod- 
iment of the Knights Hospitalers in 1120; the Tem- 
plars in 1128; the order of St. James of the sword in 
T173; the orders of Avis, T147, and St. Michael, 1167, 
in Portugal; and finally the Teutonic order, 1190, the 
most formidable and practically successful of all. He 
probably enjoyed an acquaintance with some of the 
members of one or more of these orders. The same 
spirit was imbibed by Bohemian knighthood and was 
often turned to good account. 



CLERICAL CELIBACY IN BOHEAIIA 



155 



The expansion of thought that resulted from the 
formal constitution of universities as schools of learn- 
ing on their own foundation and distinct at length 
from monastic establishments, rendered the rise of 
great men, and the bold discussion of great questions 
inevitable; and the reign of Vlatislav derived lustre 
from this circumstance. The literary monarchism of 
William of Champeaux, though obscured for a time 
by the rival glories of Abelard, attracted European 
attention, and scholars from every nation to Paris, 
between A. D. iioo and the accession of Vlatislav. 
The Bohemian youths who heard and were inspired 
by him, became grown and matured men under the 
last named prince, and diffused their new knowledge 
all around them. Bologna too arose and declared her 
genius and culture, and her lectures were within the 
reach of the youth of Hungary, Poland and Bohemia. 
The alleged fortunate discovery of a MS. copy of the 
Pandects at Amalfi, during the sack of that city by 
the Pisans in 1135 was another circumstance that in its 
results rendered the period of Vlatislav's reign one of 
important progress toward the general diffusion of 
knowledge on the most intimate and profound human 
relations. 

In spiritual affairs no uniform rule of faith or prac- 
tice existed during this century. Although no organ- 
ized body or community stood openly separate, yet 
there existed in very many localities populations main- 
taining doctrines that widely differed from those pro- 
fessed by the more conspicuous churches. These va- 
rious beliefs were held by persons who regarded them- 
selves as belonging to the one great church, and had 
no thought of separating from it. The sufferings in- 
flicted on those persons whose views on some divine 



1 56 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMIA 

things were held from very ancient times, by individ- 
uals and even congregations scattered through the 
general body, some among laity, others in the episco- 
pal bod}^, and still mors among the canonical clergy, 
gradually created outward distinctions, and excited 
animosities that had never existed so long as the in- 
dividuals and congregations that had transmitted these 
principles, and continued more or less obscure, were 
left unmolested. The valleys of the Cottian Alps, the 
remote retreats in Hungary and Bohemia, the coasts 
of the Red Sea, the island of Socotra, the fiery rock 
of Aden, with its trading post, ancient in the days of 
Rameses, the mountains of Abyssinia, the ramparts of 
Mosul, the fertile fields of verdant Malabar, had all 
sheltered the representatives of ancient faiths in un- 
broken descent from the martyrs of Diocletian and 
Chosroes. Persecution unto blood and fire produced 
lines of separation well defined, compelled disciplined 
association in defense of those beliefs that had become 
the life as well as the emblem of their freedom, and 
stereotyped these faiths in the hearts of believers for- 
ever. The revival of free discussion during the reign 
of Vlatislav encouraged an emergence from their re- 
treats of those persons who had retained these tenets; 
societies assumed distinct organization and became 
active; and the latent leaven of free thought and spec- 
ulation that had worked in the minds of many genera- 
tions of poor worshipers, became at once the animat- 
ing principle of multitudes. By the eleventh century 
these communities had formulated well defined con- 
fessions of faith; by the twelfth these confessions 
again had been embodied in as clearly stated propo- 
sitions as any of the principles that marked the found- 
ers of the church. These propositions seemed to 



CLE RICA L CEL IB A CY IN B OH EM I A 1 5 7 

some ecclesiastics to be new because they contrasted 
with others that had gradually obliterated the earlier 
and simpler doctrines. The era that produced the 
Nobla Leyczon (A. D. iioo) was not deficient in 
clearness of apprehension on controverted questions; 
and the convictions that had remained passively in- 
dependent, though hidden among the great body of 
believers, in regions aside from the great thorough- 
fares for centuries, assumed a contrariant and resist- 
ing attitude when assailed by dogmas believed by the 
compulsory separatists to be as new as they were re- 
pulsive. The independent political position and the 
national strength exhibited by Bohemia and Hungary 
during the greater part of the twelfth century, natur- 
ally invited the confidence of persons oppressed for 
conscience sake in cities more exposed to imperial and 
Roman influence. We are not surprised then to find 
alliances of fraternal feeling, and of open religious 
profession becoming conspicuous between the fraterni- 
ties of Italy and France, and the surviving members 
of the Greek and affiliated communities who still were 
numerous in Bohemia and Hungary during the reign 
of Vlatislav. As soon as Peter Waldo had obtained 
some organization among his followers, many of 
these latter sought congenial fellowship among the 
brethren of the Eastern principalities; and although it 
is stated by an eminent historian* that Peter Waldo 
himself passed into Bohemia, the fact is obscure, al- 
beit by no means improbable. His disciples certainly 
did pass into Bohemia about the close of Vlatislav's 
reign, and immediately afterward. Events to be yet 
narrated most clearly prove that although conventual 
establishments had increased in number, yet their 
* D'Aubigne. Ch. in Hung. 



158 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

inmates were only companies of a foreign garrison. 
The language and sympathies of the people were still 
strongly local; the assumed jurisdiction of Rome was 
held to be intrusive and lately tyrannical; the cus- 
toms of the clergy and of the people were retained 
against councils and threats; and the real life of Bo- 
hemia was the old life nurtured by the established 
institutions. 



CHAPTER XL 

INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA IN BOHEMIA DEATH 

OF THAT PRINCE CLERICAL CELIBACY AND CONNECTION 

OF THIS SUBJECT WITH THE HUSSITE REFORMATION IN- 
CREASE AND SPREAD OF SECTS PREMYSL OTAKAR I. CAR- 
DINAL GUIDO AND THE CUMANIANS ANDREAS, THE THOMAS 

A BECKET OF BOHEMIA. 

Vlatislav had scarcely resigned his power when the 
expected contest began between the claimants for the 
succession. Ulrich of Moravia, son of Sobieslav the 
first, appealed to Frederic Barbarossa for the release 
from prison of his elder brother, Sobieslav, who had 
been a prisoner of state for many years. The emper- 
or at once seized the coveted opportunity. Both 
parties were summoned to his court ; and as Frederic, 
son of Vlatislav did not owe his title to the imperial 
will, he was displaced, and his rival Sobieslav placed 
on the Bohemian throne. The new sovereign promised 
to provide for all the needs of the old king in his re- 
tirement; but Vlatislav loathed what he deemed ele- 
mosynary; and retired as above narrated to his queen's 
territories. Young Frederic had incautiously advanced 
to the emperor's presence and was detained there. 

Assistance in future wars against Italy formed part 
of the price of Sobieslav' s recognition. The first 
campaign, however, under this agreement in 1170 was 
disastrous and few Bohemians returned — those few in 
a sorry plight. Barbarossa next quarreled with the 

159 



1 60 HIS TOR Y OF B ORE MIA 

duke of Austria, on account of his aid and comfort 
given to Adalbert archbishop of Salzburg the stead- 
fast friend of pope Alexander III. the enemy of im- 
perial pretensions. Sobieslav was summoned from It- 
aly; and with a great host collected in Poland, Hun- 
gary and Russia, he advanced against Henry. The 
Austrian dukedom was wasted; villages and churches 
destro37ed and immense quantities of plunder carried 
away. This violence naturally drew down on the 
emperor's ally an excommunicating curse from Al- 
exander. The death of Henry in 1177 and civil com- 
motion in Hungary created a diversion that compelled 
a suspension of strife on that side; and the interval 
was seized by young Frederic of Bohemia, who was 
now at large, to ally himself with Leopold the new 
Austrian duke against Sobieslav. 

Meanwhile the disastrous defeat at Legnano in 1176 
where the fervor of the Italian youth around their 
Carroccio, sacred emblem of their republican liberties, 
for the first time crushed the German valor, and frus- 
trated the efforts of Barbarossa, through a quarter of 
a century, to destroy the freedom of the Italian cities, 
humbled the emperor even to the feet of his owrf vas- 
sals, and released the Bohemian auxiliaries from the 
thralldom of enforced combat against their natural 
allies. 

Sobieslav at once found himself confronted with the 
angry alliance of young Frederic and Leopold, both of 
whom had mortal injuries to avenge. In 1 178 Sobieslav 
was completely outgeneraled by his antagonists. His 
army was disadvantageously posted ; and partly melted 
away and partly was- destroyed. Prague was at once 
besieged by the allies; and as the citizens could not 
favor Sobieslav who had been forced upon them by a 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA i6i 

foreign despot, the city speedily surrendered ; and 
Sobieslav's queen, Elizabeth of Poland, was made pris- 
oner but at once restored to liberty. Both parties 
prepared for a final struggle; and in the following 
year 1179, in a desperate combat almost under the 
walls of Prague Sobieslav was totally v/orsted, and 
at once became a fugitive and an outlaw. He died 
miserably in about a year and was buried beside his 
father. The result of this contest placed Moravia as 
well as Bohemia under the sole authority of Frederic. 
The title of "Prince of the Rustics" has been bestowed 
on both of these princes, but of right appears to be- 
long to Sobieslav. He is said to have been uniformly 
kin,d and humane; rivaling St. Louis in justice and 
affability to the poor. During the double decade end- 
ing with 1 182 many changes had taken place in the 
occupancy of the sees of Prague and Olmiitz. The 
last named year witnessed the elevation of Henry Bret- 
islav of the ducal house to the see of Prague, From 
this date, for some time, the election of bishops be- 
came limited to the direct vote of the clergy, the 
prince confirming, and to the people being left the 
empty honor of shouting a ratification outside the 
windows. The transition from election by the clerg}' 
to appointment by the master of the clergy was an 
easy step, 

Duke Frederic had engaged to pay a large sum of 
money to the imperial treasury in return for recogni- 
tion in his own sovereignty. The exaction was, no 
doubt, defended on the ground of feudal dependence. 
In reality the demand was a kind of imperial black- 
mail wrung from the weaker party as the price of be- 
ing let alone some of the time. In order to raise the 
required sum severe extortion became necessary; and 



1 62 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

the measures adopted created a revolution in public 
sentiment, which speedily took decisive form in an 
invitation to Conrad Otto of Moravia to seize the 
throne. Frederic became a fugitive and appealed of 
course, to his big brother for reinstatement. Bar- 
barossa summoned both parties before himself to 
Regensburg; and in that city in presence of a full 
reichstag, conferred the throne on Frederic, threaten- 
ing the Bohemian lords with the axe in case of re- 
monstrance. The dissatisfaction felt at these proceed- 
ings produced another popular claimant in the per- 
son of Vaclav (Wenzel) son of Sobieslav I. Prague 
was besieged by the malcontents; but Frederic ob- 
tained timely aid from Archbishop Adalbert of Salz- 
burg and his trusty friend, Leopold of Austria; and 
Wenzel's effort failed utterly. One year later the new 
marquis of Moravia felt the weight of Frederic's an- 
imosity; and this latest appointee of Barbarossa had 
reason to regret the complications that wasted his 
master's strength in a hopeless contest in Italy. In 
fact a well grounded apprehension of the weight of 
the emperor's personal character constituted the chief 
bond between Bohemia and the German throne. A 
determination to shake off all dependence manifested 
itself on every favorable occasion. Conrad raised an 
army in Germany and Bavaria; but in a severe battle 
in 1 185 these forces were completely crushed and the 
identity of Bohemia and Moravia as one state was 
again fully established. 

The unsettled provision for distributing ecclesias- 
tical revenues entailed more alarming consequences. 
Heinrich Bretislav of Prague thundered a ban against 
Diepold II. who governed Chrudin, and other provinces; 
but both parties were compelled to await the emperor's 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 163 

return from Italy. A diet was immediately sum- 
moned on his arrival; and after presentation of the 
claims on both sides the assembly not only decided 
in favor of the bishop, but constituted his see a direct 
imperial fief, and the occupant a prince of the empire 
with the right to receive the regalia from the emperor 
in person. This was the most subversive and dan- 
gerous interference yet attempted with the internal 
affairs of the Bohemian jurisdiction ; and amounted 
to a dismemberment of the government. 

Hardly had these arrangements been concluded 
when the clamor for a new crusade filled men's ears; 
and hurled armies against the dreaded Saracen. Sal- 
adin had recovered Jerusalem in October, 1 187, and 
the fanatical zeal of Europe was again aroused to acts 
of insane violence in the name of peace and charity. 
The aged emperor girt himself for this fresh enter- 
prise and summoned his princes, dukes, and spiritual 
lords around him. In 1189 the preparations in Bohe- 
mia were completed; the allied host assembled in 
Austria; but the demise of Duke Frederic who had 
been a zealous friend of the Hospitalers, transferred 
the command to Diepold TL, named by Conrad Otto 
to that dignity. How many iron bars were cleft by 
vigorous Bohemian arms to astonish the aborigines 
of Syria, and how many silk . kerchiefs were deftly 
sliced by the dexterity of Saladin cannot now be 
known; but great deeds of valor were performed on 
the loose robed turbaned paynim, with the chief re- 
sult of eradicating from all Arabia, from Sinai to Per- 
im, and from Perim to Bab-el-mandeb, almost every 
vestige of the many flourishing christian communities 
who had hitherto enjoyed a quiet, perhaps contemp- 
tuous toleration. 



164. HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

When the Arab warriors advanced to confront the 
mailed invaders before Accon and Jerusalem, they 
utterly suppressed, and as far as possible exterminated 
all possible allies of the christian destroyers in their 
rear; and from that period only an obscure remnant, 
dimly known as "Men of the Cross" have retained in 
silence and concealment, a shadowy reminiscence of 
the communities who had hitherto preserved the faith, 
and the books, and the hallowed memories of Anti- 
och. 

A freshet in the Seliph broke the unity, and de- 
stroyed the vitality of the great expedition; and the 
warrior life of the mighty host almost expired with 
the "bubbling cry" of the great Frederic as he sank 
beneath the swollen stream on that dark loth of June, 
1 190. 

Henry VI. was engaged in preparations to take 
possession of his wife's inheritance the Norman king- 
dom of Italy, when the tidings from Palestine placed 
the wider dominion of the empire before him. Henry 
had been brought up among the troubadours and 
minnesingers of his father's court, as well as among 
knights and men at arms. But his character was cold, 
calculating and cruel. He possessed his father's love 
of power; but it was unclothed by those larger and 
more intellectual qualities that gave greatness to Bar- 
barossa. His first act of authority in his father's ab- 
sence, was to commission Conrad Otto to restore 
peace in Meissen where marquis Otto, and his son ri- 
valed each other in attempts to destroy the sustenance 
of both. The Bohemian forces surpassed both parties 
in capacity for plunder; and the fire subsided from 
want of fuel. On assuming the imperial crown, Henry 
did not forget his Italian interests; and Conrad Otto 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 165 

accompanied him with a contingent, which was of 
great importance to Henry at that moment. The 
coronation ceremony was performed by Celestine III. 
in iigi; and Conrad was the first Bohemian prince 
who participated in that formality. The expedition 
was disastrous. Some cities were reduced ; but Conrad 
died before Naples in September; and Henry was glad 
to escape with his life and a remnant of his followers. 
The gloomy message from Italy produced a melan- 
choly foreboding in Bohemia; and the opportunity 
called rival claimants for the crown before the nation. 
On one side appeared Wenzel, son of Sobieslav I., 
and on the other Przemysl Otakar, son of Vlatislav. 
Tlie latter aspirant found powerful support in Bishop 
Heinrich Bretislav. During the contention the bishop 
preceded Henry to Regensbiirg and offered a pay- 
ment of six thousand marks of silver for the recogni- 
tion of Otakar. The article on sale was knocked down 
to the highest bidder, and possession, as symbolized 
by the royal banner, was transferred to the purchaser, 
through his ecclesiastical chapman, who became surety 
for payment. His commission was not probably at 
first intended to be del credere, but he accepted the 
responsibility rather than lose the trade. Ocakar soon 
incurred the enmity of the kaisar and his lords by in- 
terposing in a quarrel between Count Albert of Bogen 
and Count Ortenburg, giving aid to the former against 
the Duke of Bavaria who sustained the other party. 
The reichstag pronounced against Otakar and his 
friend. Meanwhile the stipulated price of the Bo- 
hemian crown was left unpaid. The bishop attempted 
to, evade a suit and an execution by undertaking a 
pilgrimage to Compostella; but officers intercepted 
and de.tained him, and a portion of the stipulated sum 



1 66 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

was paid.* But as Otakar could not provide tl e 
balance, the property was by a rough equity decreed 
to belong to the man who had paid for it. Heinrich 
himself was invested with the regalia as sovereign of 
Bohemia in 1193; and at once set forward to secure 
his purchase, Otakar allied himself with Henry the 
Lion ; but his followers, valorous enough while the 
enemy were at a distance, deserted in troops before 
the banners of the crozier. Prague resisted for some 
time ; but after a siege of five months surrendered on 
the suggestion. of Otakar, who would not inflict hope- 
less suffering on his adherents. The prince bishop 
speedily demonstrated his subordination by dispatch- 
ing an army to subdue the marquis of Meissen for a 
breach of his feodality to the empire. The bishop's 
health soon failed under the pressure of state anxie- 
ties; and in iig6 Otakar made an unsuccessful effort 
to recover his dominions. 

The following year was marked by the arrival cf 
Cardinal Peter of Capua in Bohemia, whose mission 
was directed chiefly against the marriage of the clergy 
which was still customary outside the monastic estab- 
lishments. Threatening demonstrations were produced 
by his proceedings; and his life was endangered; but 
the law of celibacy was proclaimed again after more 
than a century had elapsed in vain efforts to suppress the 
ancient honored custom of marriage among the par- 
ochial clergy of Bohemia. Two years later the synod 
of Dalmatia gave public expression and record to the 
notorious fact that all the secular clergy were married 
in those regions. f In the same year this cardinal 

* Clearly the legal principle of arresting fraudulent debtors was 
wfeU known; and the ecclesiastical character of the rogue made no 
difference. 

f In partibus Dalmatian et Diocletice Sacerdotes et uxorem habere 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 167 

visited Poland; and at the synod of Lanciski the cler- 
gy were again commanded to discontinue their an- 
cient and universal custom of marriage.* 

Seventy years later the clergy of Hungary were still 
married; but as in all its dealings with this country, 
and others where Greek influence still prevailed, much 
tenderness was exercised; and during more than a 
century the canons were allowed to remain suspended 
because they could not be enforced. A little compu- 
tation will easily connect the close of that interval 
with men who saw the beginnings of the Hussite re- 
formation in Bohemia. In fact the connection be- 
tween the Greek influence in Bohemia, Poland, Hua- 
gary and Dalmatia and the Hussite reformation was 
never broken. The latter was the uninterrupted con- 
tinuation of the former. 

Henrich designated Vlatislav, youngest son of the 
great king of that name as his successor. By an 
agreement a peaceable partition was eflected by which 
Otakar obtained Moravia, and Vlatislav was secured 
the undisputed throne of Bohemia. A brief reign of 
five months closed his quiet career; and by universal 
consent the united government was entrusted to Otakar, 
whose character became developed as one of the great- 
est princes of the age. This prince obtained the cog- 
nomen of the "Victorious" and the "Golden" and he 
restored the primitive dignity of the Bohemian crown 
by obtaining from the kaisar at a reichstag held at 
Mayence, a solemn recognition of the right of the 
Bohemian people to elect their own sovereign by free 

et ecclesias tenere dicuntur. Batthyani II. 289. Synod of Dalmatia, 
1 199. 

* "Turn facta synodo provinciali, sacerdotibus imperavit ut concu- 
binas et uxores, quibus tunc passim libere utebantur ab se abdicar- 
ent."' Stravolsc Concil. Epit., ad Hard. T. VI, P. II. 1937. 



1 68 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA . 

suffrage in ihe customary form, and that only persons 
so elected should become Kings of Bohemia.* A. D. 
iigg. 

During all the revolutions in social order, and dy- 
nastic establishments in Europe during this century, 
and after all vicissitudes, Bohemia retained her an- 
cient limitSj her established forms of internal institu- 
tions, and her institutional individuality. The struggles 
of men for independent thought and action in relig- 
ious relations also constituted the twelfth century a 
period of serious transition, unrest, and restoration. 
The church itself was far from possessing an estab- 
lished position either in philosophical or dogmatic 
theology. The discussions of the schools indicated 
the absence of practical subjects of dissertation; and 
the efforts of ingenuous minds to work out fixed prin- 
ciples in which faith and intellect could unite. 

The lives of the so-called orthodox prelates and 
clergy called forth constant protests from all classes; 
while the growing arrogance of their pretensions pro- 
voked increasing investigation of their doctrine and 
t]:eir status. The people instead of being instructed 
were amused with fables that cultivated credulity ; 
while the mendicant orders fattened in idleness where 
the people starved. Multitudes complained that uni- 
versal laxity of morals kept pace with alleged corrup- 
tions of doctrine ; and demands for reform never ceased 
to be heard. 

We cannot then be surprised that in all the coun- 
tries surrounding Bohemia and in Bohemia itself, 
numerous communities arose of persons who sought 

* A Caesare Philippe comiiiis Moguntinis inpetravit previlegium 
solenne, ut qui posthac rerum in Bojemia potituri essent suffragiis 
populi liberis pro more lecti, reges essent omnes." Stransky Reip. 
Boj. XXXIV, De Princip, 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 169 

spiritual consolation and intellectual relief in re- 
searches and tenets outside those at that time encour- 
aged and inculcated by established ecclesiastical au- 
thority. In every century from the beginning. of the 
Christian era there had been such. In many countries 
none could tell what the authorized doctrines of the 
church were; inasmuch as discussions frequently crys- 
tallized new articles of faith not previously sanctioned. 
In western Europe the authority of the Roman church 
was far from being established anywhere; and her ad- 
vanced guard was only pushing its way against much 
stubborn resistance. Persons who had been for cen- 
turies known or stigmatized as Paulicians, corrupted 
into Publicani, reached Italy from Syria and Bulgaria, 
and at length became very numerous in Lombardy, 
Insubria and Milan where they had been long estab- 
lished. In Bulgaria and Slavonia they were governed 
by a pontiff of their own down to the days of Has; and 
their tenets, lives, and claims must have been well 
known in Bohemia. Teaching in the same language 
they certainly had hearers directly or indirectly among 
the Bohemians. They had become alienated from the 
Greeks in the ninth century when pictures were al- 
lowed in Greek churches. Many other communities 
under the name of Paterini*, Cathari,f Albigenses,| 
and other titles, were distributed through southern 
France, in northern Italy, in Bosnia and Croatia, at 
Metz in large numbers, in Normandy and Germany, 
in Avignon, and even in England in ii59-§ The Vau- 

* Men of the cup — from patera a cup. 

f KaBdpot — the pure, 

\ Because condemned at Albi in Aquitaine in 1176. 

§ Mabillonii Analecta T. III., p. 452. Ed. Nov. 1473 in D.Agren- 
tre, I.e. p. 33. 



1 70 HI ST OR Y OF B OHE MIA 

dois, who called themselves Vaudes in the Nobla 
Leyczon, and were distinct in origin and in some of 
their tenets from the Waldenses of L3'ons, and Vien- 
ne, and Toulouse, formed a separate community in the 
Cottian Alps* where they had simply continued to oc- 
cupy their old settlements, and to profess their old 
creed undisturbed. All these persons found sympa- 
thizers ariiong the Greek communities in Bohemia, 
Hungary, Bosnia, Dalmatia and Servia where they 
were almost free from molestation. 

The distribution of these fraternities was greatly 
facilitated and guided by the great highways from 
Russia and Constantinople to Bremen and Bruges. 
One great highway extended from the Rhine to Con- 
stantinople by Soest, Corvei, Gandersheim, Bruns- 
wick and Magdeburg, through the Slavonic countries to 
Kiew. Better known routes led over St. Gothard, the 
Wormser, and the Brenner between Italy and Ger- 
many. One of these routes ran by Basle, Strasburg, 
Mayence and Cologne to the Netherlands, and the 
German Ocean, and thence by water via Wisby in the 
island of Gothland to Riga. Another led by Regens- 
burg, the Main, and the Rhine, to north German}', 
Bremen and Hamburg. Another more direct route 
led from Constantinople along the Danube to Hun- 
gary, thence to Bohemia. By way of Cologne, Ghent, 
Bruges, and Brussels merchandise passed to London. 
During the period of commercial activity, stimulated 
by the success of Venice, Genoa, Amalfi, in the Le- 
vant, the stream of new philosophical and religious 
doctrines was introduced and distributed. Up to the 

* Mountainous regions were described by Peter of Clugny in 1127 
as Latibula, or lurking places, where dissentients had always found a 
refuge. The phrase amounts to a valuable admission of the antiq- 
uity of the Vaudois in those very Latibula. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 171 

thirteenth century Hungary possessed much power 
along the Dalmatian coast, and during the twelfth 
century controlled Zara and several other cities orig- 
inally claimed by Venice; and by this route much 
eastern wealth passed to Hungary. During the sama 
period much merchandise was conveyed through Ca- 
rinthia to Bohemia, although this trade was eventu- 
ally diverted to the Tyrol. The value of this traffic 
was very great and constituted Venice the great en- 
trepot between the Orient by Alexandria and eastern 
Europe. As this religious and mercantile current 
flowed it deposited more or less freight of both kinds. 
It is well known that all the independent professors 
were always as zealous in distributing their sentiments 
as in selling their wares. The men who bartered silk 
and shawls from China and India spoke of the rich 
robe to be given by the heavenly bridegroom; the 
traders in cinnamon and spices told of the myrrh and 
frankincense that heralded the purifying and preserv- 
ing faiths and truths revealed from a far land to the 
waiting sons of men; the vendors of Damascus blades 
reasoned of "the dividing asunder of soul and spirit" 
by the divine message which was sharper against evil 
than any two-edged sword; the wine of Italy symbol- 
ized that sacred "fruit of the vine" which was to be 
"drunk by all" who would imbibe the spirit of him 
who was the "true vine" on earth. Every trader who 
visited a homestead bearing his pack of merchandise 
first completed his traffic in wares such as he bore 
and were suitable; and always accepted brief hospital- 
ity as part recompense: and as the stranger sat in 
the evening gloom by the burning log, and peradvent- 
ure was expected to relate the latest intelligence he 
bore, he invariably discoursed more or less from a 



;i72 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

small volume that he carried in his vesture; and read 
and explained it as tl:e divine message always most 
new, and always of chiefest import. All eastern Eu- 
rope knew the presence of these men and every ham- 
let and household knew of them and what they read 
and taught. They were invariably possessed of copies of 
the Scriptures. The Bohemian vladyka who entertained 
these travelers was familiar with Pole and Russ, and 
Magyar, with Greek and Teuton; and Bohemia always 
possessed thousands who had marched and camped 
among Poles, Italians, Germans. The subjects agitat- 
ing these nations were perfectly well known ; and the 
pretensions of every man to public place were thor- 
oughl}' discussed. Persecution for conscience sake 
had never been heard of in his nation; and as the 
claimants of liberty were his familiar companions 
against aliens frequently of very bad repute at home, 
his S)'mpathies went out to the humble like himself who 
only asked what their fathers had always enjo3'ed. 
During this period the temper and tendency of Bohe- 
mian thought was eastern ; all national interests were 
eastern ; and most of the marriage alliances of the 
nobles were additional bonds connecting them with 
the east. Vlatislav as a "German hater,"* gathered 
up the full tone of mind of his countrymen in himself. 
The marriage of his daughter with Waldemar, king 
of Denmark, in 1162 formed another bond between the 
professors of Greek rites in the two countries. The 
Danes had received Christianity two centuries before 
this period; and were declared by Cardinal St. Sabina 
the legate of Innocent IV, to be still Greek schismat- 
ics in 1248; and the council of Schening held in that 

* Stransky. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 173 

year was especially convened with reference to the 
abolition of Greek rites and customs.* 

During this century a step of great importance in 
the courts of justice originated with Bela III. of Hun- 
gary, who established the practice of handing in all 
complaints in writing. This circumstance renders 
the year 1173, a landmark date of interest to the law- 
yer as well as the historian. From that year the in- 
crease of a body of men devoted to the study and ex- 
position of law as a science was necessaril}' accelerated. 
The supply of persons capable of presenting claims 
-before the courts in a form wherein the legal merits 
were clearly set forth, and the assistance derived from 
the same source in all the subsequent proceedings, 
naturally created a demand for the services of such 
persons. The independent tone also necessarily con- 
ceded to the advocate of rights before every tribunal 
gradually raised up a bulwark betwen power and peti- 
tion that is the central strength of every community. 

Otakar allied himself with Philip, son of Barbarossa ; 
and took the field at the head of a strong force in his 
favor; and Philip confirmed his friend in the posses- 
sion of the royal title in perpetuity. The same year 
— 1 198, saw the elevation to the papal chair of the 
most remarkable man of the age — the gloomy monk 
Lothair Conti — Innocent III. Otakar had married 
the Princess Adele, daughter of Otto of Meissen; but 
whether under a caprice similar to that which moved 
Philip Augustus of France to reject Ingeburga of 
Denmark in 1196, or under scruples about consanguin- 

* Prima intentio et cura cardinalis Sabinensis in hoc concilio erat 
revocare Suecos, et Gothos a schismate Grcecorum in quo presbyteri 
et sacerdotes, ductis publicis uxoribus. consensisse videbantur. 
Thomassin Discip., de I'Eglise. P. IV. Lib. I., c. 45. Paschal II- 
Epist. 497. 



1 74 HI ST OR Y OF B O HE MIA 

ity, Otakar obtained a divorce, although his marriage 
had been blessed with a numerous family; and soon 
afterward united himself with Constance of Hungary. 
This proceeding involved him in serious political em- 
barrassments, at a time when he did not need them. 
Daniel the bishop of Prague accepted investiture 
from Otakar; but the clergy objected. At the same 
time Innocent pronounced in favor of Otto the Welf 
against Philip. Daniel appealed to Rome and was sent 
back triumphant ; and in 1201 Otakar transferred his 
support to Otto. The reasons assigned for this step 
were the encouragement of intrigues against Otakar at 
Philip's court. During two years all the regions from 
the Alps to the Vistula were traversed by agents of 
the contending parties. The wild tribes of the plains 
of Poland and the steppes of Russia were enlisted and 
turned loose against the farmers and villagers of 
Thuringia and Saxony. In 1203 Philip marched with 
a strong force into the former province ; but the cry 
of Cardinal Guido for help against this new Saladin 
was heard on the Danube and the Volga; and the wild 
Turkish Comans, fierce nomads of south-eastern 
Russia were enlisted by the pope to destroy the cliris- 
tian settlements of Europe. It is possible that the 
memory of this expedition was perpetuated among 
these wild tribes who subsequently formed a portion 
of the desolating army of Mongols or Mughals, who 
made Europe tremble thirty-eight years later. Emerich 
of Hungary advanced rapidly with the hope of redeem- 
ing his Kingdom from the feudal stain imposed by 
Henry III. His followers recalled the tradition of 
the Huns of old by their motley array. Otakar led 
his host against the Swabian, who was compelled to 
retire before this two-fold invasion. But the states 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 175 

of the archbishop of Magdeburg were made the objects 
of the baffled fury of the destroying swarms. For 
weeks the slaughter and destruction did not abate; and 
the cardinal found ample gratification in the devasta- 
tion inflicted on the domains of the churchman who had 
opposed the wishes of his master, Innocent. Otakar 
received the crown of Bohemia again from Cardinal 
Guido this year. The Saxons of Meissen were next 
punished for waste committed in Bohemia. Otakar's 
services were recompensed by an order to the bishops of 
Prague and Olmiitz to render him all obedience so long 
as he should serve Innocent's purpose. At this pe- 
riod the domains of the efnpire were lavished on ad- 
herents. Fiefs and farms, offices and titles purchased 
influence more or less stable. Next year, 1204, 
Philip again advanced against Thuringa, and neither 
Otakar nor Otto could resist. Otakar took some steps 
to be reconciled to Philip and Adele, but the birth of 
a prince in 1205 renewed his determination. Adele 
appealed to Rome; but as her former husband was at 
that moment fighting Innocent's battle, the pope had 
no ear for her griefs. The unhappy lady died of a 
broken heart a few years later. 

The assassination of. Philip by Count Otto of Wit- 
telsbach in June, 1208, plunged Germany into conster- 
nation. Philip's queen suddenly died. Frederic son 
of Henr}' VI. was a mere boy, away in Italy ; and no 
organized opposition could be made to the accession 
of Otto. At that date, as at the present, men ren- 
dered political services solely in the expectation of 
the "spoils of office." Philip's murderer had aspired 
to the hand of the emperor's daughter ; but being one 
of the fiercest men of the time Philip was not per- 
suaded to consent. Next Otto sought the hand of a 



176 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

daughter of- the duke of Poland but there also his 
aspirations failed. Being thus repulsed from the 
"White House" Otto determined on revenge; and en- 
tering Philip's chamber at Bamberg while the em- 
peror slept, struck him with his sword, inflicting 
a mortal wound. The assassin was overtaken and 
slaughtered, and his act rendered future emperors 
cautious in the distribution of favors. 

Otto married Beatrice, Philip's surviving daughter, 
and soon afterward marched into Italy. No sooner 
did he claim his imperial jurisdiction than Innocent's 
fury blazed. Otto was expected to renounce large ter- 
ritorial possessions in return for papal favor; but he 
regarded his imperal dignity as a trust to be main- 
tained in full. The ban of the church was hurled 
against him forthwith. Innocent also intrigued in 
favor of young Frederic, son of Henry VI ; and 
princes and barons were soon of his party. Otakar 
also adhered to young Frederic, as did Herman of 
Thuringia and the archbishops of Mayence and Mag- 
deburg. At this juncture the support of the able, 
experienced, and energetic king of Bohemia was a 
prize to be purchased at a high price, and Otakar 
knew his own value. But danger existed in his own 
dominions. Vratislav, Otakar's son of his first queen 
Adele, had many partisans. To this party came in- 
vitations from the adherents of Otto, especially the 
Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duke of Bavaria. 
But the king was strong both in friends and resolution ; 
and in 1212 he set out to hold a formal meeting with 
Frederic at Regensburg. Frederic only reached Swit- 
zerland. At Basle a court was held, and on this import- 
ant occasion a solemn treaty was established between 
the sovereigns. This decree confirmed and enlarged the 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 177 

privileges conceded by Phillip. The crown of Bohe 
mia was fixed in Otakar and his descendants forever; 
the coronation fees were remitted ; the boundaries of the 
kingdom were settled, and were not to be infringed; 
the investiture of bishops secured to the crown; at- 
tendance at the reichstag limited to Bamberg, Nurem- 
berg and Merseberg; and three hundred marks or 
three hundred men formed the contribution in case 
of a coronation at Rome. A number of fiefs were con- 
signed to Otakar in payment of his expenses, as tem- 
porary security.* Among the witnesses to these stip- 
ulations appears the ominous name of Rudolph of 
Hapsburg, grandfather of that Rudolph who raised 
up a new empire and a new dignity in Europe. Otakar 
accompanied Frederic to his coronation at Aix-la- 
chapelle; and attended the reichstag at Regensburg. 
Otto had allied himself with Richard I. of England 
who supposed himself to be the natural enemy of 
Philip Augustus of France the firm ally of the Ho- 
henstaufen. The fatal fight at the bridge of Bouvines, 
May 27, 1214, broke almost Otto's last hopes. He 
retired to Brunswick; made one more effort with the 
aid of bishop Waldemar, and seized Hamburg. But 
his enemies now included Denmark; and Otto finally 
retreated to his own dominions where he passed three 
years gratifying and appeasing an active disposition 
in such works of local usefulness as his fortune en- 
abled him to effect. f 

During this 3^ear bishop Daniel died; and his sue 
cesser was Andreas, chancellor of the kingdom and 
provost of Prague. With this prelate begins a nev/ 

* Pelzel I. 118. 

f The reader is spared the humiliating recitals of the death scenes 
of this prince. 



1 78 HI ST OR Y OF B O HEM I A 

and momentous era in the history of Bohemia. His 
consecration took place at Rome during tlie sitting of 
the well known council of Lateran, 1215, under Inno- 
cent III., where among other things the doctrine of 
the real presence in the eucharist first authoritatively 
assumed its present form among the adherents of the 
Rornan dogmas, after having been discussed and dis- 
puted for centuries. Hitherto Andreas had been an 
eminent Bohemian subject, patriotic, devoted to the 
laws, institutions and independence of his country. 
He returned from Rome an arrogant ecclesiastic, full 
of the audacious pretensions that marked the court 
of Innocent III. and that thrust occasion for embit- 
tered contention through every country. As chancel- 
lor Andreas had performed his legal and constitutional 
duties without deviation from usage; but as bishop 
of Prague he became transformed into the antagonizing 
agent of an alien court, commissioned to introduce a 
foreign jurisdiction between his own government and 
its subjects, directly; and indirectly an emissary to es- 
tablish an authority that claimed the right of unlim- 
ited interference between the laws of the countr}' and 
the nation. 

After the quiet of the kingdom had been established, 
Otakar's first act was to assemble his parliament. 
Under the influence of the dangers arising from dis- 
puted succession this assembly altered the pragmatic 
law whereby succession had been vested in the eldest 
of the family generally.* Otakar obtained the recog- 
nition of his son Wenzel; and the establishment of 
the right to the throne in the direct descendants of 
the monarch. 

* An example of this principle in Egypt during the nineteenth cen- 
tury will occur to every one. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 179 

At that juncture Otakar— he styled himself Przemysl,* 
— occupied a position in some respects similar to that 
of Henry II. of England half a century previously. 
'Otakar possessed the advantage of a settled parliamen- 
tary system. Henry had no parliament. Otakar ruled 
a nation guided by established legal procedure and for- 
mal judicature through all its cities and districts. Henry 
was obliged to construct and complete a system of 
judicial procedure out of the irregular and broken 
practice that prevailed. Both ruled countries formally 
constituted, and just beginning to enjoy a settled 
succession after a period of violent political storm, 
Otakar was compelled to encounter an invasion of his 
supremacy from the same aggressive hierarchy that 
now sought to govern every country from without, at 
the instigation of an ecclesiastical despot; and to 
hear the demand for a complete surrender of the unity 
of his kingship couched in the same tones and senti- 
ments, as pointed and significant as the "Salvo honore 
Dei" of Becket on the plains of Montmirail. 

Andreas signalized his assumption of episcopal con- 
trol by investigating and publicly expressing his dis- 
approval of many acts of his predecessors and his de- 
termination to adopt a contrary policy. He issued a 
strong pastoral to his clergy requiring them to abstain 
from yielding subjection to temporal authority. H3 
repudiated the competence of the assize courts not 
only over the persons of ecclesiastics, but over the 
tenants of the glebe lands. He forbade every accept- 
ance of preferment from the laity ; refused the pay- 
ment of taxes and soccage services from the property 
of the church ; and laid exclusive claim to the tenths 
that had been assessed on church lands. 

* "Ego Przemysl, Rex Boemorum." 



1 80 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMIA 

These fundamental assaults on general usage and 
public law were condemned and resisted by the whole 
people. They were revolutionary, anarchistic, and 
subversive of the established life of the nation. So 
united and resolute was the hostility to these innova- 
tions that Andreas in anger laid the kingdom under 
an interdict, A. D. 1217; and forthwith repaired to 
Rome to lay his quarrel before the new pope Honorius 
III, and derive strength and counsel from the vehe- 
ment spirit of encroachment then prevalent at the 
center of papal Christendom. The archbishop of 
Mayence was then primate, and liis metropolitan ju- 
risdiction extended over Bohemia. This see had long 
been opposed to papal aggrandisement at the expense 
of the empire; and a dignitary sent from Prague found 
no difficulty in obtaining a release of the kingdom from 
the interdict from this prelate who had formerly been 
an ecclesiastic in Bohemia. The archbishop, how- 
ever, reserved a promise that Otakar should respect 
the well founded rights of Bishop Andreas. 

The perilous significance of these events in Bohe- 
mia may be gathered from some brief notices of con- 
temporary experience in neighboring countries. 

The rapid spread of free societies in France, Spain, 
Italy, Hungar}'^ and elsewhere evoked from Innocent 
III. letters apostolic expressed in the most peremp- 
torily severe and menacing language, addressed to 
princes and prelates commanding them "to catch and 
kill the little foxes, the Waldenses, Cathari, Paterini ; 
foxes of diverse faces but with tails tied together 
by a cord of common heresy, and sent by Satan 
with fire brands of destruction into the vineyard." 
These peaceable and blameless brethren had greatl}' 
increased in Italy. Spoleto, Viterbo and Rome itself 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA i8i 

had become familiarized with their preaching. Driven 
out of Spoleto by the cruelties of the archbishop they 
wandered into Hungary; and also took refuge under 
Culinus, Ban of Bosnia. Thither also denunciatory 
letters were despatched commanding Emerich, — the 
same prince who reinforced Otakar during the war in 
Germany, to pursue these innocent people, and hunt 
them down and kill them indiscriminately. As the 
laws of Hungary would not permit this procedure, 
Innocent proposed the enactment of penalties to be 
inflicted on those he wished to extirpate. "In other 
states," said the pope, "we have commanded the same 
to be executed by secular powers and princes; but if 
they refuse so to do we have commanded that they be 
compelled by ecclesiastical severity." Emerich, how- 
ever, had been taught that murder is not government ; 
and in that particular was infinitely more Christian 
than the pope.* The Hungarian sovereign not only 
did not molest the quiet persons who had appealed 
to his flag, but extended his protection and encour- 
agement. In Bosnia accordingly, the brethren exer- 
cised their various callings in peace, and the country 
prospered. There are persons who assert that John 
Hus introduced novelties two hundred years after these 
events. The king of Bulgaria was persuaded to un- 
dertake the office of Inquisitor spurned by Emerich. 
Kalo-John had for dynastic reasons quarreled with 
Constantinople, and by this political wedge the bishop 
of Rome introduced his claims. In that country the 
immigrants were compelled to erect altars and crosses 
in their churches; but personal violence was forbid- 
den. Man}' of these refugees settled in Bohemia; and 

* Let the answer of the author of Christianity be read when the 
apostles wanted fire called down from heaven. 



J 82 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

their principles and customs were perfectly well 
known, as well as the sufferings of their brethren in 
Bulgaria and elsewhere. The proceedings adopted 
by Innocent were notorious all over Europe, and were 
perfectly familiar to Otakar. Innocent's dreadful 
proceedings at Viterbo in 1207 were also fully an- 
nounced everywhere. In that city Innocent had or- 
dered every so-called heretic to be seized, his property 
confiscated, his domicile demolished and made a 
dunghill, that he should be deprived of all civil rights, 
and of the services of judge, advocate, or notary, and 
of the ministrations of clergy, and m ight be persecuted 
in any manner by whoever chose.* Not only permis- 
sion but authority and power to do such things in Bo- 
hemia constituted the necessary extension of the claims 
now put forward by bishop Andreas. Here the crown 
had favored and endowed monastic houses. But neither 
prince nor people had forseen or contemplated the 
pretensions now being erected on the existence of 
these establishments. This new assault presented to 
the Bohemian prince the alternative of permitting the 
pope's agent to slaughter any number of Bohemians 
before his eyes, or have the religious emotions of his 
people converted into an engine to beat down his own 
authority. All this two centuries before the protests 
of Hus on the same subject! Did Hus introduce any 
novelty on that matter? Bohemia had also seen the 
kingdom of Aragon, and the kingdom of England each 
become a fief of Rome, and each made tributary, the 
former in a payment of two hundred golden masiemiste 
pieces per annum; but had also learned of the deep 
indignation both of the Aragonese and the English. 
The outburst of wrath at the proceedings at Huesca 
* Registorum Lib. X., num. 130. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 183 

from all the people must have been known at Prague. 
It was notorious public history. Bohemia had also 
witnessed the accumulated atrocities, and horrors of 
cruelty inflicted on the people of Languedoc who nar- 
rated them in every court, and every city in Eastern 
Europe whither they fled; and it may be that Bohe- 
mia also had heard of Ferdinand III. of Castile, known 
to our day as Saint Ferdinand, who with his own hand 
carried and added to the heap bundles of faggots used 
to burn alive in the Asturias some of those very refu- 
gees from Languedoc who had incautiously ventured 
to suppose him a Christian. It is even possible that 
Bohemian statesmen had read the bitter denunciation 
by the same pope of the Great Charter of English 
liberties, as "a composition not only vile and dis- 
graceful, but even illegal and iniquitous, and tending 
to the excessive diminution and degradation alike of 
the king's rights and of his honor."* 

It may be too, that Bohemian ears had heard the 
words of terrible import, "Up, up, soldiers of Christ! 
Up most Christian king! Hear the cry of blood" ad- 
dressed by the head of Latin Christendom to the sov- 
ereign of those very lands he was ordered to destroy. 
Bohemia may have even heard the despairing but stern 
resolve of the Toulousans, — "We will all die, we will 
all eat our children ere we will submit to these fright- 
ful impositions," Does anyone believe that the total 
destruction of the cities, towns and people of a splen- 
did province in the south of France was unknown in 
Bohemia with whose knight crusaders Bohemian lords 
were personally intimate? Nay, worse than all, Bo- 
hemian patriots could still hear in fancy the chant of 

* Compositionem non solum vilem et turpem, verum etiam illicitam 
et iniquam, in nimiam diminutionem et derogationem sui juris pariter 
et honoris." See Rymer, 



1 84 HISTORY 01 BOHEMIA 

the bishops and legates, "Come Holy Ghost," rise 
above the horrible tumult of butchery at Levaur where 
"a general massacre was permitted; men, women, 
children were cut to pieces, till there remained noth- 
ing to kill except some of the garrison and others re- 
served for a more cruel fate;" and they could see in 
the mind's eye the nobles brought before De Mont- 
fort hewn in pieces, because the gibbets were over- 
loaded and broke down.* And Bishop Andreas came 
to Bohemia as the apostle of the new dispensation 
that claimed the right to do all this! 

That Otakar felt indignant at the confusion threat- 
ened to the realm by the interdict thundered against 
him, cannot be cause of surprise. But since 1216 In- 
nocent was dead; and we hear no more the same tone 
of exorbitant pretension at once seductive and menac- 
ing that formed the style of that pope. Honorius III. 
indeed undertook the cause of Andreas, but the auda- 
city of Innocent did not survive. Honorius wrote to 
Otakar complaining that in Bohemia clerical persons 
were not only accused but punished in secular courts, 
that the king himself contemned the ban of the 
church, associated with excommunicated persons, 
bestowed benefices, collected improper imposts from 
spiritual persons, and refused the tenths from his do- 
mains; that his example was followed by his tenants, 
and the immunities of the church were trampled upon. 
All this was commonplace, and far beneath the hot 
and pointed rhetoric of Innocent. Otakar replied with 
circumspection and politeness. He thanked the pope 
for the interest he felt in him personally, and for his 

* We may apply to this calamitous period the dreadful words of 
the Koran "we have mown them all down; and exterminated them; 
one cry was heard, and all have perished." Terrible as this is in 
English it is strikingly sonorous and stimulating in the original. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 185 

fatherly admonitions, and intimated that some persons 
must have whispered calumnies in the papal ear, 
proudly adding that it was not customary with him- 
self or his predecessors to condemn any man to death,* 
and especially ecclesiastics. Improper imposts had 
never been laid on the churches ; encroachments had 
always been punished and the church privileges had 
been extended; "In bestowing benefices" Otakar said, 
"I have followed the suggestions of Bishop Andreas 
or of the dean of Prague. The tenths from my do- 
mains are paid in full to the royal chapels; whoevejr 
is indebted to the bishop's exchequer, or remiss in 
payment is called to account. Inquire, holy father, 
of all the clergy of Bohemia, and the neighboring 
countries; if my words are not correct withdraw your 
confidence; but if they are true, then let the man be 
punished who has calumniated me." "A former spir- 
itual person," the king added, "was indeed condemned 
to the gallows in a temporal court for robbery and 
counterfeiting; that he did not wish to concern him- 
self in the nominations to benefices, but that the 
rights of lay persons in that regard must not be cur- 
tailed. He could not perceive the impropriety of im- 
posts from ecclesiastics to the state." 

During this correspondence Pope Honorius re-affirmed 
the interdict. The contest thus became serious and 
must be adjusted as speedily as possible. Many of 
the chief dignitaries owed their elevation to the king's 
appointment; and the interdict had received little or 
no attention after its removal by the metropolitan. 
Among these dignitaries were dean Arnold, archdea- 
con Christopher, Benedict of Bein, Wecemil of Bech- 

* This language to the successor of the slaughterer of the Albigen- 
ses is very manly and significant. 



i86 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in, Zdislav of Horrsov, Orslov of Saatz, John of 
Kurim, Pribisalv of Pilsen, and Valkin, Bohuslav, 
Matthias Peregrinus, John of Aschaffenburg, and Bar- 
tholomew, canons. Their example was followed by 
the clergy all through the country, and even by Bishop 
Robert of Olmiitz, a Norman prelate of English 
birth, who had accepted the duties of that see in the 
absence of the regular bishop. The pope had reproved 
him sharply for undertaking these functions under 
the circumstances; and notified him that he must ex- 
pect deprivation unless he obeyed the interdict. The 
benefices held by the clergy of Prague were declared 
vacant; and all who held them were summoned to 
Rome. The bishops of Ratisbon, Passau, Eichstadt, 
and the archbishop of Salzburg with some Bohemian 
abbots were constituted a court of inquiry and con- 
sultation, to whom individually and at different times 
the subject was referred. 

Otakar requested that a papal legate might be ap- 
pointed to arrange the differences; and Honorius 
named the bishop of Ratisbon and the abbots of 
Ehrach and Waldassen as his representatives to con- 
sult with the king and his nobles, and receive a se- 
cure pledge for the performance of all conditions that 
should eventually be determined. Otakar forthwith 
assembled his parliament at Kladrav, A. D. i2ig. At 
this assembly the form of the arrangement to be ob- 
served on both sides was established. 

The bishop alone should have the right to induct 
and suspend spiritual persons, but without detriment 
to the rights of lay patrons. 

In spiritual things he should have jurisdiction over 
all ecclesiastical persons. 

His duties should be performed by deputies ap- 
pointed by him until his return. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA 187 

Within three months after his arrival compensation 
should be made to him for all injuries committed 
either by the king's chancery or private persons; and 
six barons became sureties for the performance of this 
condition. 

The tenths should be assessed and collected in every 
district as hitherto. 

The bishop should solemnly promise loyalty and 
fealty to the king,* 

The king's private seal as well as the seal of state 
was attached to this instrument; as the members of the 
assembly did not employ their private seals in matters 
of public concern. 

At the same time Otakar requested the pope to dis- 
patch a legate to inquire into the bishop's griev- 
ances, and to restore all the ecclesiastics who had un- 
dertaken their spiritual duties under the king's com- 
mand. But bishop Andreas had peremptorily deposed 
"the schisiTiatic prelates" as he styled them. On the 
other hand the king felt bound in honor to protect 
the men who had performed their duties to their peo- 
ple out of respect to their fealty to their country. 
The king's exchequer seized and retained the bishop's 
temporalities; and a new interdict was pronounced at 
Rome, and published through .Europe. Otakar on 
his part despatched an embassy consisting of several 
of the most eminent barons of the kindgom, to Rome, 
to represent himself personally and the estates and 
policy of Bohemia. The pope had thus succeeded 

* See the far less favorable terms accepted by King John of Eng- 
land in 1213 under very similar circumstances. The Great Charter, 
on which now rest the vaunted liberties of mankind, which is quoted by 
constitutional writers as the triumphant perpetuation of ancient rights, 
is of the same date, June 15, 12 15 as the fourth council of Lateran 
where was sounded the fierce trumpet blast against the independence 
of nations. Perhaps also "Providence owed us that counterpoise." 



1 88 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MI A 

in securing in his own hands a supersession of the 
jurisdiction of parliament over the internal adminis- 
tration of the country. 

• Honorius requested the embassy to accompany the 
bishop to Vienna; and there to consult with the es- 
tates, declaring that he was the more willing to adopt 
this course as they had become sureties for the bish- 
op's safety,* 

Andreas proceeded to the boundaries of Bohemia on 
the Austrian frontier,! and thither Otakar with a nu- 
merous retinue advanced to meet him. The negotia- 
tions were speedly broken off, as the bishop put for- 
ward a new claim, which was met by new proposals, 
and Andreas returned to Rome without effecting any 
thing. The ecclesiastic could afford to wait. He had 
not the administration of the daily claims and wants 
of an entire nation depending upon his interposition 
and vigilance. Delay necessarily increased Otakar's 
difficulties, while his opponent, now become his ad- 
versary, could with calm craftiness weave new com- 
plications to embarrass the generous sovereign who 
had honored him. It was on the last point, the prom- 
ise of fealty to the king — that the negotiations now 
turned; and as the pretensions of Andreas necessarily 
corresponded with those systematically asserted at 
Rome, and expressed in the same language in every 
part of Europe ; the "Salvo honore Dei" again consti- 
tuted the artifice by which laws and thrones were to 
be rent asunder by the fatal wedge of alleged main- 
tenance of the honor of the Deity. The "Talis dolus 

* It is more than probable that Backet's history was in the eyes of 
all parties during these transactions. 

f Dem ungeachtet Hess sich der Konig so veit herab das er mit 
dem Bishofi an den Osterreichisschen Grenzen zusammen kam," 
Pelzel I. 1 20. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA i8g 

prudentia sit dicendus" of Innocent* is clearly dis- 
cernible as the guiding spirit of these transactions. 

At length Honorius despatched Gregory, Cardinal 
de Crescentio, to Bohemia with power to establish a 
concordat respecting the disputed points; the juris- 
diction over the glebe tenants, and the ] urisdiction of 
the church at Prague, and to collect information re • 
specting the elevation of Prague to an arch-episcopal 
see- 
Bishop Andreas accompanied Gregory but was cau- 
tious about entrusting his person within the Bohe- 
mian frontier, until an agreement should be effected. 
Again the Austrian boundary saw assembled a bril- 
liant array of princes and ecclesiastics under the per- 
sonal control of the king of Bohemia and the duke of 
Austria. The cardinal legate was there and Bishop 
Andreas, and Robert the Englishman of Olmiitz, John 
of Neitra, Lawrence of Breslav, and many prelates 
and abbots of Bohemia and the neighboring regions, 
nobles of the land and statesmen, and grave juriscon- 
sults, with much display of ceremonial if not of pa- 
geantry. The entire scene strongly reminds us of a' 
similar display on the plain of Montmirail. The tur- 
bulent prelates of those' days always surrounded them- 
selves with as much pomp as possible. An arrange- 
ment was engrossed and sealed. The interdict was 
withdrawn. The bishop swore to observe the com- 
pact; and to respect the privileges conferred on the 
churches by the kings and dukes of Bohemia which 
had fallen to the ground during the dispute; and the 
king confirmed the agreement by a solemn decree. 
The glebe tenants were relieved from payment of the 
imposts to the crown, and from feudal soccage. The 
* "Let such deceit be pronounced prudence." Epist XI. 232. 



I go HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

supreme jurisdiction over them belonged to the king, 
the revenues were assigned to the bishop. The old 
disputed district of Podwin was restored to the see of 
Prague. 

In addition to this arrangement Otakar concluded 
a second concordat with the legate by which the priv- 
ileges of the churches and monastic houses through 
the country at large were confirmed. These were not 
so extensive as those ' conceded to the churches of 
Prague. The glebe tenants were not wholly relieved 
from assessments to the crown, but the latter were 
reduced as well as the soccage labor. Supreme juris- 
diction over the parochial clergy was reserved to the 
king, who, however, pledged himself to refer com- 
plaints against them to the authority of parliament, 
under the presidency of the high chancellor and one 
baron; but complaints against the tenants were to be 
heard before the king himself, wliile usually they were 
examined before the assize courts. Harmony and 
union may be secured by stipulations much less formal 
than these if concert and amity be the object; but if 
there be a disposition toward endless encroachments 
on one side, no concordat, statute, agreement, or 
compact will avail against the eagerjiess to disunite 
and to grasp. A slit in the armor will always be dis- 
covered when there is a determination to search for it. 

The deposed prelates were restored; but bishop 
Andreas did not choose to consider himself secure; 
and he fled to Rome where he remained until his death 
in 1224. 

Honorius issued an order that the bishop elect 
should proceed to Rome for confirmation and conse- 
cration, whoever he might be. The selection fell on 
Peregrinus already mentioned and he accepted invest- 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAROSSA igi 

iture from the king. This proceeding displeased the 
papal court; and Cardinal Conrad, then in Germany 
was ordered to investigate and correct the status of 
the new bishop. Peregrinus was persuaded to re- 
nounce his office and accept a small stipend to be 
paid to him by his successor. Under Conrad's influ- 
ence the next choice fell on Budilov, another canon, 
and he was at once confirmed by Honorius; but his 
opportune death at Rome afforded a most favorable 
opportunity for retaining control in full over the elec- 
tion of his successor. Deputies were therefore re- 
quired to proceed from Prague to Rome, to act under 
the immediate control of the papal chair. John of 
Prague was chosen; and his confirmation took place 
under the next pope, Gregory IX., the real founder 
of the Inquisition. The slit in the armor was found. 
Henceforth the rights of Bohemia, of prince and peo- 
ple, nobles and estates, were reft from them; and an 
alien and an adversary possessed the means and the 
opportunity of establishing his sworn agents in the 
heart of the country in defiance of all the laws, con- 
stitution and independence of the realm. In the light 
of these events the retreat of Andreas to Rome may 
be read. His residence there until his death may have 
been intended to afford the coveted opportunity. "Talis 
dolus prudentia sit dicendus. " The maxim has been 
applied to many things; from the deception of Ray- 
mond to that of Lord John Russell. 

It was at this juncture that the order of Dominican 
or preaching friars was established at Prague. Public 
sentiment in Bohemia needed a strong counteracting 
influence. 

Strange to tell it was the pious devotion of the Al- 
bigensian ladies of Languedoc, resembling in many 



192 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

features the practical zeal and methods of the present 
Salvation Army, that suggested the method of preach- 
ing as a chief instrumentality for the counteraction of 
heresy so-called. Being attached to the semi-monas- 
tic community established by the bishop of Osma, Dom- 
inic accompanied the bishop to Denmark in 1203. 
Immediately on crossing the Alps the negotiators 
were at once impressed by the proofs of prosperity and 
industry everywhere abounding. They were also im- 
pressed by the contempt into which the Catholic cler- 
gy had fallen, and the universal prevalence of Albi- 
gensian philanthropic zeal. At Montpellier they en- 
countered the legates commissioned by pope Inno- 
cent, who were then returning in discomfiture, having 
wholly failed to produce any impression on the popu- 
lation. It was then that Dominic rebuked the legates. 
"It is not b}' the display of power and pomp" he said 
to them, "or by gorgeous apparel that the heretics 
win adherents. It is by earnest preaching, by the hu- 
mility of apostles, by strictness of life, by apparent, 
indeed, but still by apparent holiness." The spirit 
of Dominic pervaded the camp of De Montfort,. and 
was the animating life of the mock tribunals that 
created holocausts of victims at Lavaur, Beziers, Car- 
cassonne, Minerve, Termes, Mireux, where, and all 
through the land, the sword, the torch, and the faggot 
consigned unknown thousands to an awful destruc- 
tion. The spirit of Dominic was that which revelled 
in all the souls of DeMontfort's crusaders when they 
heard the shrieks of the burning women, and mocked 
their agonies in the flames.* 

The activity of the new order was wonderful. In 
1221 Dominic died, and his canonization followed 

* Mainte folle heretique beugle dans le feu." Fauriel. 



INTERFERENCE OF BARBAR0SS4 193 

speedily. The entire order was taken under the es- 
pecial protection of the Virgin ; and was supposed to 
enjoy the closest approximation to lier person. Dom- 
inic himself was alleged to have become her adopted 
son. Miracles of 'the most puerile description were 
attributed to him without number.* This was the 
order that became domiciled at Prague in A. D. 1226. 

Otakar was then far advanced in life ; and his fore- 
sight induced him to provide for the succession be- 
fore his death. The coronation of his son Wenzel 
was therefore determined on; and the ceren ony was 
performed by Siegfried, Archbishop of Mayence, as 
metropolitan, in the church of St. Vitus at Prague. f 
From this precedent the see of Ma3^ence claimed the 
right to perform the coronation ceremony of the kings 
of Bohemia. All the ancient ceremonies were not in- 
troduced on this occasion, presumably as Wenzel was 
reallj' not 5'et king in fact; but henceforward some 
of the ancient forms fell into disuse. 

Otakar died on December 15th 1230, leaving a numer- 
ous family. Przemyzl the second son became Margrave 
of Mojravia on the coronation of his brother ; and 
among the princesses one was sought in marriage by 
Henry III. of England. 

During his last days some official papers were 
signed by the king; some by his son ; and unusuall}' 
important documents by both. During this reign the 
Teutonic knights obtained their first establishment in 
Bohemia. The impulse to German colonization by 
tlie minor sovereigns of the empire, within this cen- 
tury, extended to Bohemia, Colonies settled in va- 
rious places and always claimed special privileges. 

* See Malvendioe; and the Vie de St. Dominique of Lacordaire. 
f Pelzel. 



194 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

They demanded independence of the Bohemian courts, 
and the supremac}^ of their own customs. 

This system of jurisdictional fracture once begun 
in their case gradually extended. Under its opera- 
tion localities demanded special immunities; eccle- 
siastical persons and small corporations by degrees es- 
tablished peculiar distinctions in their own favor, un- 
til the assize courts were shorn of their former import- 
ance. 

Special vocations like those of Eger and Leit- 
meritz, exercised in the mountain districts during this 
period required appropriate arrangements among the 
workmen respecting methods of operation, remunera- 
tion, hours of labor, discoveries, relations of employ- 
ers and emplo3^ed, and other ingredients of their life 
and experience. These arrrangements are always best 
settled by the workers themselves. No man can tell 
how much a miner can fairly earn under certain con- 
ditions of rock and water, fire damp and narrow seams 
of ore, so well as one of the persons who have be- 
come familiar with the details by actual struggle. 
Under such conditions customs and rules necessarily 
become established; and the difficulties to be overcome 
fix the laws of the society and of its labor. In this 
way German colonies in Bohemia, as on the Baltic 
coast, consolidated. themselves and continued to enjo)' 
their own jurisdiction from the days of the Saxon em- 
perors. King Wratislav had admitted this principle, 
and it was formally conceded by his successors.* 

* "Concedo eisdem Teutonicis vivere secundum legem et justitiam 
Tentonicorum quam habent a tempore oevi mei regis Wratislai," was 
an official declaration of Sobieslav II, This was the general conces- 
sion after the fall of the old empire. 



CHAPTER XII. 

WENZEL I. OTAKAR II. THE TARTARS. 

The condition of Europe on the accession of Wen- 
zel I. as affecting those phenomena that form the se- 
quence of this "Story," and the future variations in 
the fate of Bohemia which are dependent on those 
phenomena, can only be understood from a brief re- 
view of some of the more salient events that distin- 
guished the time. 

The crusades originated in the wild but unin 
structed fanaticism of the age. The great impetus they 
conferred on the aspirations of the Roman see was 
speedily discovered. The ferocity stimulated against 
Saracens was easily directed with augmented fury 
against alleged heretics within Christendom. Th2 
prospect of unlimited plunder excited greed. The 
taking of the cross became a duty which every prince 
and peer, and every renegade, murderer and vagabond 
also owed to church and country for the expiation of 
crime. A certain number of years of crusading be 
came the recognized penalty for the most heinous 
offences, and Palestine was formally constituted the 
Botany Bay of Europe. By a strange mixture and 
confusion of ideas the service of the cross was made 
a punishment of malefactors; and the hewing down 
of Saracens assumed the same recognized status as 
picking oakum, or rolling shot. The white cross worn 
on the loose robe was as much the outward sign of a 

195 



1 96 HIS TO RY OF B O HE MI A 

condemned malefactor as striped pantaloons, or a 
chequered coat in modern days. An ardor for propa- 
gandist fraternities, influenced strongly by the crusad- 
ing spirit and methods arose at the same time. The 
two-fold advantages presented by these distant enter- 
prises, — the emptying of Europe of its wisest and best 
as well as its worst elements, — the abeyance of set- 
tled policies in the absence of chief rulers, and the 
multiplied openings thus afforded for the intrusion of 
ecclesiastical power, were promptly taken advantage 
of. Great hosts were thus driven forth leaving wide 
social and administrative spaces to ecclesiastics at 
home; princes imposed exhaustive burdens on their 
people; and the more lavishly they spent their treas- 
ures, under the threat of religious censure which 
created the great ogre of the age, the more they were 
menaced for not doing more. Undeterred by the des- 
olating famine that wasted Egypt in 1200 and was 
repeated in Syria a few years later, when earthquake, 
plague and famine inflicted the extremities of suffer- 
ing, the papal command called for a crusade. In this 
terrible time many cities disappeared. Hamath, 
Barin and Baal-bec were laid in ruins; only the street 
of the Samaritans was left in Nablous; Damascus 
was prostrated; Tyre became a barren rock; Ptole- 
mais and Tripoli were as Jericho before Joshua; when 
piles of human bones were met everywhere and the 
country was "like a field sown with dead bodies, and 
the provinces were like a banquet hall for carnivorous 
birds,"* the voice of the pontiff of western Christen- 
dom was heard ordering legions into the midst of the 

* The historian Abdallatif, translated by M. Silvestre de Lacy 
"Les Relations de I'Egypt." Latin writers carefully shun these re- 
citals . . . 




Coin of King Wenzel. 




.0^- 



Seal of Otakar II. 



THE TARTARS 197 

famine and the pestilence. The dread sphynx* death, 
however, stood at the door as the awful watchdog of 
ruin. 

By great efforts some of the cities were repaired; the 
Saracen prisoners were set to do the work ; the illustri- 
ous Persian poet Saadi, among other captives was con- 
demned to service. The author of "Gulistan," a com- 
position admired in all lands and still a classic in all 
the East, carried a hod, and presented a sample of the 
mockery of fortune far greater than that of Demosthe- 
nes in casque and greaves fleeing before Philip, or 
Horace flin^^ing aside his little shield to hasten his ce- 
lerity in retreat. t 

While these quixotic proceedings were enacted in 
Palestine, cardinals at home levied taxes, enrolled 
armies, forgave debts to all but themselves, bestowed 
rewards and punishments, and usurped more than all 
the functions of prince and parliament. The clergy 
secured larger and still larger immunities, powers, and 
possessions; and sovereigns were required under 
pain of excommunication, if not worse, to withdraw 
the flower of their countries' sons, the golden youth 
of their people, far from their native land, 

"And charge with all their chivalry" 
against Saracens who had never molested them. High 
above all fierce cries for preparation sounded the voice 
of the chief pastor of western Christendom, "Sword, 
Sword, spring from the scabbard, and sharpen thyself 
to kill. "I Yet all these efforts availed not and the 
four thousand loaves per day doled out to the remnant 

* This word is preserved in its original signification in the Russian 
Sabaka — a watch dog, 

f Relicta non bene parmula Hor. 

X Innocent III., against Louis, son of Philip Augustus. 



1 98 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of the crusaders in Egypt witnessed at once the baffled 
fanaticism of Europe, and the generous virtue of their 
calumniated adversaries. 

The crusade of children in 1212, exhibited the intox- 
ication of the public mind. 

The return of Frederic II. proved fatal to the sixth 
crusade; and he found his empire in confusion. 

The brief period between 1215 and 1242 was only 
the space of time between one orgy of blood and an- 
other. Drunken language indicated the inebriety of 
Europe. Andrew II. of Hungary earned gratitude but 
was recompensed with contempt. He delayed long 
in Armenia satisfied with the possession of the head 
of St. Peter,* the right hand of St. Thomas, and one 
of the seven vases of the marriage of Cana. 

The general ferment indicated a change but it took 
a wrong direction and became sour. Still some good 
arose out of all this chaotic commotion. The visions 
of the East created new ideas and aspirations in Eu- 
ropean homes. The mean cottages of Europe looked 
mean beside the decorated splendors of eastern hab- 
itations. The villages that had sheltered the stout 
5'eomen of Vladislav who had beaten back German 
and Magyar assumed a dingy look in the eyes of men 
who beheld the domes and cupolas of eastern realms, 
the perfection of arch and pillar that adorned the halls 
of palaces and mosques. Even the cross-adorned robe 
of knighthood seemed a plebeian garment compared 
with the green and scarlet and purple which demon- 
strated the splendid perfection of the dyer's art in the 
flowing cloaks of the swarthy sons of the east. The 

* Some accounts give him two heads, and two hands of somebody, 
and a sprig of the rod of Aaron. One fairly good head of his own 
would have been infinitely better. 



THE TARTARS igg 

skins of wolf and fox that had formed so important a 
portion of the only armor of Bohemian trooper cap- 
tains gave place to steel helmet and cuirass. The fur 
of bear that had sheltered many a gallant head was 
replaced with plume of ostrich or of peafowl; and the 
eye of Wenzel and his knights became trained to a 
distaste of such homely attire as had prevailed, and 
the primitive dwellings that had sheltered it. _The 
German form of castellated mansions was introduced, 
and many of the nobles adopted the German style of 
nomenclature. 

The fierce contention between the papal power and 
the Hohenstaufen emperors affected every throne in 
Europe, and laid the foundation for contentions that 
have scarcely ceased to this day. The houses of Prze- 
fflyil and Hohenstaufen were closely connected by mar- 
riage, Wenzel's queen, Kunnigunde, being cousin of the 
emperor and laying claim to a princely inheritance in 
Swabia. Among other evils of the time was one that 
can with difficulty be accounted for. Princes had ac- 
quired the custom, or the morals of the day imposed 
the necessity, of putting away their wives, alleging as 
reasons the ties of consanguinity usuall)^ Probably 
it began with a caprice of one, and was followed by 
an evil pride in others. Frederic the Warlike, Philip 
Augustus, Vladislav, John of England, and others 
had put away their wives. Frederic was married to 
Sophia, sister of the queen of Hungary. This lady 
was repudiated. For this reason Wenzel led an army 
against Austria in 1230, and committed so much dev- 
astation that Frederic was compelled to abandon 
his territory as far as the Hungarian border. Fred- 
eric next married a daughter of Otto of Meran, and 
thus became brother-in-law of Przemysl, djke of Mo- 



200 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ravia, brother of King Wenzel. The brothers-in-law 
united their forces against the king; but Wenzel com- 
pletely discomfited his opponents. In order to chas- 
tise his brother Wenzel wasted Moravia in a dreadful 
manner; but the duke submitted to the king's clem- 
ency. 

The emperor returned from Italy in 1230, and en- 
deavored to reconcile Austria and Bohemia; but Duke 
Frederic had hopes of the crown of Hungary on ac- 
count of the hostility to Bela IV. The quarrel being 
thus reopened, Bohemia again trampeled down the ob- 
stinacy of the Austrian; and the army of the duke was 
almost totally destroyed by an overflow of the Dan- 
ube. King Wenzel's sister Agnes had been disap- 
pointed of forming a marriage alliance with Pi i nee 
Henry, and had become a nun, and a most zealous 
devotee. This lady was the favorite sister of King 
Wenzel and exercised supreme influence over his coun- 
sels. This circumstance developed momentous con- 
sequences to Bohemia. 

The Empress lolante, daughter of the king of Je- 
rusalem, died in 1228; and Isabella of England be- 
came next empress amid a splendid ceremonial at 
Wormes. In the meantime discontent in Austria had 
grown so vehement that Duke Frederic's subjects ap- 
pealed to the empire. A summons before the reichstag 
produced no effect, and the ban of the empire was 
pronounced. Chastisement was committed to the king 
of Bohemia, the duke of Bavaria, tne marquis of Bran- 
denburg, and several bishops, the emperor being still 
engaged in his fruitless strife in Lombardy. Austria 
with the exception of a few fortresses was subdued; 
and Vienna and the other occupied cities placed un- 
der the authority of the Burgraf of Nuremberg. 



THE TARTARS 201 

Having associated his son Conrad in the empire in a 
diet at Spires in 1237, Frederic retired to Italy, and 
henceforward became a stranger to Germany. But the 
conflict with the papacy developed the vigorous free 
thought and daring speech of the imperial German; and 
the vehement denunciations on both sides expressed 
many supreme truths then greatly needed in Europe, 
and to this day form extremely entertaining literature. 

The position of Bohemia at this juncture was favor- 
able to peace. But the turbulent spirit of the time, 
the absence of the emperor, the youthfulness of his 
son Conrad, a boy of ten, the intrigues of domestic 
cabals, and the restless spirit of propagandist ambi- 
tion all combined to provoke into active eruption the 
volcanic elements of European politics. The empire 
held a perpetual menace impending over Bohemia. 
The moment seemed favorable for an alliance with 
those powers whose interests were opposed to those 
claimed by Germany. To these influences was now 
added the more subtle and penetrating power of ap- 
peals to religious feeling addressed to Wenzel in his 
quiet hours by the ever potent voice of his favored 
sister Agnes. This lady being at the same time a 
kindred spirit, and a near relative of Elizabeth of 
Hungary, afterward canonized, the two zealous pro- 
fessors of the most extreme sj^stem of ascetic devotion 
were at that time a power in the heart of Europe. 
Elizabeth was the daughter of Andreas, king of Hun- 
gary, and Gertrude von Meran, sister of St. Hedwig. 
Immediately after her birth she was demanded of her 
parents to be brought up as the intended bride of 
Louis, son of Hermann, landgrave of Thuringia. The 
child was carried in a silver cradle to the Wartburg 
which in a more fortunate age becarne the shelter of 



202 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Martin Luther. In due time Elizabeth became wife 
of Louis and mother of a son — Hermann. Succeeding 
to the dignity of landgrave Louis was easily induced 
to take the cross ; but Palestine did not suffer or benefit 
from his valor. He died on the journey, leaving 
young Hermann still in infancy. Conrad and Henry, 
brothers of Louis, now seized Thuringia and dispos- 
sessed Elizabeth, who was reduced to penury at Eis- 
enach. Henry was enrolled as a knight hospitaler, 
and Conrad enjoyed the dignity of landgrave. Being 
hated, however, by his subjects for his ferocity, and 
forced to cede due honor to Elizabeth and her son, 
Henry, surnamed Raspe, avenged himself by poisoning 
young Hermann. Elizabeth retired to Marburg and 
the fame of her devotion, which sprang from over- 
wrought and lacerated feelings, spread abroad. Her 
confessor, a Dominican monk, also named Conrad, 
reduced the submissive and broken hearted princess 
to extraordinary mortifications. Daily did she submit 
her exposed person to the lash weilded by the stern 
monk, and frequently displayed the wounds inflicted, 
saying "Behold the caresses of my co'nfessor. " Con- 
rad advanced from one degree of daring to another. 
His cruelties inflicted a premature death on his victim, 
Elizabeth; but he applied successfully for her canon- 
ization. Miracles abounded. Not satisfied with this 
success Conrad usurped the office of judge of heres}^ 
and established an inquisition among women, peas- 
ants, and mendicants, on whom he imposed disgrace- 
ful acts of penance. His ambition soared loftier and 
he summoned counts von Solms, Henncberg and oth- 
ers before his tribunal and condemned Count von Sayn 
to have his head shorn, a penalty equivalent to the 
cropped hair of a State's prison. The count appealed 



THE TARTARS 203 

to the diet at Mayence, proved his innocence and de- 
manded reparation. His appeal succeeded before the 
emperor Henry and the monk fell a guilty victim to 
popular retribution. He had condemned eighty men 
to be burnt at the stake. Twelve of his apparitors 
were put to death at the same time. Two of his fa- 
miliars noted for their cruelty, Johannes and Conrad, 
attempted to escape; but both were arrested and ex- 
ecuted. The Dominicans suffered, so far, the penalty 
due to their crimes; and in Germany the Inquisition 
was no longer dreaded. The order in Bohemia was 
under the especial patronage of the princess Agnes. 
Shortly before his death Conrad had stirred up a crusade 
against the Stedingers, east Frisians of the province 
of Stade. Great numbers of these unfortunates were 
massacred; and every prisoner taken was burnt. The 
archbishop made an unsuccessful attempt to drown 
them all by cutting the dykes. The effect of these 
proceedings on public thought in Bohemia, already 
not favorably disposed toward the authors of these 
massacres, consisted in deepening the feelings of aver- 
sion toward Roman influence, and drawing closer at- 
tention to the character and doctrines of the sufferers, 
On these points Hus introduced no novelties. The 
more public effect of the introduction of the Domini- 
can order into Bohemia still remains to be narrated. 
Under the combination of opportunities and influ- 
ences here specified, in the year 1237 King Wenzel 
made a full and free proffer of his submission and ser- 
vice to Pope Gregory IX. "It is through her inter- 
vention that you, most holy father, receive me under 
your jurisdiction ; and in truth I love my sister as I 
love wife and children, and all the good of life, even 
more than any human being." So wrote Wenzel; and 



204 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the Roman court attached great importance to so de- 
cisive an announcement from such a quarter. Here 
was a novelty introduced into Bohemia. 

The first effect of this submission was a request 
from the pope to Wenzel in favor of the restoration 
of the estreated territories of the duke of Austria. But 
Wenzel was not in a position to adopt so bold and 
injudicious a step at that moment. 

This year 1237 witnessed another open rupture be- 
tween Wenzel and his son, Przemysl of Moravia. The 
latter fled to Hungary. His territories and fortresses 
were reduced; but King Bela IV. interceded for the 
fugitive; and a peace was concluded by which Prze- 
mysl was forgiven, but deprived of much territory and 
revenue. During these hostilities Frederic the Warlike 
and Wenzel held a conference wherein a treaty of 
alliance offensive and defensive was concluded against 
the emperor; and the papal see again meditated an 
excommunication and an interdict against the Hohen- 
staufen monarch. With the assistance thus afforded 
Frederic of Austria reconquered his territories in the 
year following, 1238. In the year ensuing another and 
wider confederation stood arayed against the emperor 
though the efforts of Gregory. The duke of Bavaria, 
Henry of Thuringia, Henry of Meissen, with Otto and 
John of Brandenburg, were associated with King Wen- 
zel in this league ; the king being nominated as the 
Captain General.* Gregory at the same time demand- 
ed the election of a new emperor. This new crusade 
was preached with great vehemence in Germany by 
the legate Albert of Beharn; but his insolence dis- 
gusted many influential nobles and prelates. Not- 

* "Ducem et capitaneum et magistrum." Acta Alberti Beh., 1., c. 
787. 



7 HE TARTARS 205 

withstanding this check the compact organization of 
the hierarchy began to make itself felt as a formidable 
antagonist now distinctly arra3'ed as a separate and 
conflicting combination. 

In the face of these perils Frederic II. convened a 
Reichstag at Eger in 1239; and deputed his son to 
represent the imperial authority. The confederate 
nobles were also present, each party with a strong 
armed force. The debates were violent; but the duke 
of Austria seceded from the alliance on being prom- 
ised a restoration of his territories on condition of 
withdrawal from the opposition. The efforts made 
by Gregory to set up another claimant to the empire 
were not successful with Robert of Artois, nor the 
duke of Schleswig. The dissentients offered the peril- 
bus honor to Wenzel; but the Bohemian king found 
good reasons for declining to commit himself to 
avowed hostility. He even meditated a full reconcilia- 
tion. Wenzel' s prudence was opportune, as the pow- 
ers of Europe soon found themselves confronted by 
a peril which had gradually approached, destro3dng 
and blackening as it came, and required the united 
strength of the best and bravest to repel the disastrous 
menace that it portended. 

Among the numerous tribes which had contended 
for land and power in the depths of Asia, during many 
centuries, the Mong-shi-v/ie, known also tnore specific- 
ally as the Mong-ku-li, gradually emerged from their 
obscurity as a subordinate section of a great confed- 
eracy. They became by degrees traders with the 
Chinese, and of sufficient importance to be named 
during the Thang dynasty, 618-907. They lived by 
hunting and cattle, nomadised every year in search of 
water and grass; and they bartered hides, sheep, camels 



2o6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and horses. Their native home lay between the Onon 
and Kerulon tributaries of the Amur. Many of these 
tribes were subjected to Chinese authority during the 
early centuries of the Christian era ; and disputes con- 
cerning tribute gradually led to war with the emper- 
ors of the Thang dynasty. The region lying southwest 
of this territory was occupied chiefly by Turkish tribes, 
and a commingling of names and races took place 
whereby an offshoot of Turkish stock acquired power 
and pre-eminence among the Mong-ku li. The tribe 
becoming divided into two principal branches, a long 
and deadly feud grew up between the rivals; and the 
section descended — according to the genealogies — from 
Mogol Khan was driven into obscurity where it re- 
mained for several centuries. Among the neighbor- 
ing tribes to the west and northwest are found the Ta- 
ta identified as the white Tatars or Tartars, and be- 
yond them again some" Turkish tribes. From the sixth 
to the twelfth centuries of our era the Mong-ku-Ii — 
or Mongols — were not conspicuous. They inhabited 
the country in north Mongolia, and southwest of Lake 
Baikal. During this period the Hiong-nu, afterward 
known as Turks, possessed the chief power in Central 
Asia; and from a branch of these Turkish Hiong-nu 
the ruling family of the Mongols is supposed to have 
descended. Gradually the Mongol power grew in ex- 
tent and boldness ; and we find one section of them at 
war with the emperor Shing-tsong in 1014. Their 
ambition as conquerors was checked on this occasion; 
and they were again reduced to the position of traders. 
Hostilities were, however, renewed; and at the end 
of another century — A. D. 1147* — the long contest be- 
tween the Chinese and Mongols still continued. The 
* De Maiila VIII. 545. 



THE TARTARS 207 

defection of another tribe — the Kin, from the Cliinese, 
created a valuable accession to Mongol strength; the 
Chinese general Uchu was compelled to surrender 
twenty-seven fortresses, and to promise an annual 
tribute of cattle, sheep and grain. The Mongol 
chief hereupon styled himself emperor of the great 
empire of the Mongols. It was during this period, 
and by the instruction obtained from Chinese prison- 
ers, that the Mongols became acquainted with cooked 
meat. A short time subsequent to these events the 
chief power among the Mongols was in the hands of 
Yissugei, one of their greatest leaders. By this chief- 
tain the tribes were rendered entirely independent 
of Chinese rule from any province; and by some 
writers, among them by De Mailla, the first assump- 
tion of imperial title was the act of this prince. In 
1 145 and 1 155 Yissugei overran the country of the 
Tartars, laid it waste, and returned greatly enriched 
with spoil. Shortly afterward his eldest son was born 
and was named Temudjin after the vanquished Tartar 
chief. Yissugei had then his qhief camp on the plain 
of the Onon, and on the right bank of that river — the 
cradle land of the Mongols. The number of families 
then subject to Yissugei did not exceed 40,000. His 
assistance was sought by Wang Khan of the Keraits, 
the Prester John of the west. Yissugei replaced him 
on the throne, and Wang Khan became his sworn 
friend. Yissugei died in 1175, being poisoned by the 
Tartars who treacherously invited him to a banquet. 
He was succeeded by his son Temudjin, better and 
more terribly known subsequently as Jingis Khan. 

Temudjin was only thirten years old when his father 
died; and his youth and early manhood were marked 
by constant warfare — by alternate victories and defeats. 



2o8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

An attempt at cattle stealing by a number of subor- 
dinate tribes, and the instant death of the offenders, 
created a confederacy against Temudjin which proved 
too strong for him to resist. He was taken prisoner, 
and fixed in a cangue or instrument of boards which 
are fastened round the neck. But Temudjin was not 
easil}^ subdued. He escaped and was befriended, and 
returned to his own people. The fame of his house, 
the rivalr}' of clans, the alliances existing, the favors 
shown by his father, and his own spirit soon surrounded 
him with an army of 13,000 men. With this force he 
attacked and defeated his opponents; and soon after- 
ward quarrels among his adversaries created import 
ant desertions in his favor. Feasts, presents, and 
marriage alliances augmented his influence and the 
number of his adherents; and in 1194 he became a 
free lance, and united his forces with those of Kin, 
emperor of China, who was then at war with the 
enemies of the Mongols. A complete victory and 
much boot}' were the result. Other successes followed 
against other offending tribes; and a visit from Wang 
Khan and an alliance greatly increased his consider- 
ation. A serious defeat, and the invasion of his coun- 
try and abduction of his wife, reduced Temudjin to 
great distress. But his presence of mind and re- 
sources came to his aid; and in 1197 he was again at 
the head of a strong force. Wang Khan was a third 
time restored to his kingdom. The following years 
were a period of constant strife and familiarity with 
bloodshed and destruction. Jealousy of his rising power 
created strong confederacies against him; but his 
vigor and unsparing severity again made him master. 
During this critical state of his affairs Temudjin 
adopted the polic)' which ever afterward distinguished 



THE TARTARS 209 

him. His orders were strict to follow up the beaten 
enemy and never stay for booty. A series of encounters 
at length led to a formidable conspiracy ; and Temudjin 
was defeated in a great battle and reduced to severe 
straits. On this occasion his calmness was made con- 
spicuous in a formal letter to Wang Khan. At length 
the divisions among his opponents provided followers; 
and a rupture with Wang Khan himself led to a battle 
in which the latter was defeated and afterward mur- 
dered, A. D. 1203. In this year Temudjin was pro- 
claimed Khan, and another great victory followed soon 
afterward over confederated tribes in the west. These 
struggles placed the Khan at the head of all the 
forces of an immense extent of country. The passion 
for war had thus been stimulated; and an alternation of 
victory and defeat had hardened his character until it 
had assumed the phase of a remorseless lust for con- 
quest and destruction. At length in 1211 Jingis as he 
was now styled — his full title being Sutu Bogda Jingis 
Khakhan — advanced to the attack of the Chinese em- 
pire. A long series of successes followed this inva- 
sion. The following 5'ear the attack was renewed, 
and immense districts and provinces were ravaged. 
The accessions of strength and riches acquired by the 
conquest of towns and cities confirmed Jingis in the 
passion for war, and deepened the calm ferocity of 
his destroying character. Henceforth wherever there 
were inhabitants and plunder thither the remorseless 
Mongol hordes swept on, and perpetrated frightful rav- 
ages. The empire of the Shah of Kharesni — an im- 
mense region extending east and southeast of the 
Caspian Sea, formed the next neighbor to the Mon- 
gol dominion. Muhamed of Ghizni was then Shah, 
and a ruler of celebrity, A quarrel between subjects 



210 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of these powers became the pretext for a devastating 
invasion. During tlie terrible war that began in 1218, 
tiie most awful and overwhelming calamities were in- 
flicted on the realms of Kharesm and Persia. The 
ravages of Jingis aqd his destroyers extended from be- 
3'ond the Caspian to the Persian gulf, and on to Geor- 
gia and Armenia, Cities were destroyed in every di- 
rection and their inhabitants murderously extermi- 
nated. The fury for blood had only grown more in- 
tense with gratification. Provinces were utterly wasted. 
The fairest scenes of earth were made a desolate wil- 
derness; the centers of commerce and opulence be- 
came shapeless heaps of rubbish, not the thousandth 
part of the population was left alive in large and flour- 
ishing districts; and one immense scene of carnage 
and desolation marked the afflicted lands swept over 
by the devastating hordes of the Mongol chieftain. The 
ranks were largely recruited from prisoners who were 
always placed in front in the attack on cities; and 
the most deliberate deceit and treachery were habit 
ually practiced to induce garrisons to surrender for- 
tified places. Straggling bands of wanderers strayed 
away to Russia, Hungary and Beloochistan; but from 
that period the lands blighted by the tread of the Mon- 
gols have never recovered the paralj'^sis inflicted by 
the dread destro5-ers of Jingis. 

During those memorable years the spirit of crusad- 
ing was indeed abroad in the world. The horrors 
perpetrated by Pope Innocent and De Montfort in 
Languedoc v/ere rivaled but not surpassed in cruelty 
of spirit by Jingis in Kharesmiah and Khorassan ; and 
the fair towns of France witnessed the counterpart of 
the ferocity displayed at Urgendj, Otrar, Nishapur, 
Herat, Nissa, Merv and many other cities. One said, 



THE TARTARS 211 

"I am the vicar of God, and I condemn to the stake 
all who do not believe as I do ;"the other wrote, "Com- 
manders, elders, and commonalty, know that God 
has given me the empire of the earth from the East 
to the West; whoever submits shall be spared; but 
those who resist shall be destroyed with their wives 
and children." De Montfort, Conrad, Dominic, In- 
nocent and others carried into effect the claims cf 
the one, and Chepe Noyan, Ogotai, Tului and Juji ex 
ecuted the commands of the other from the same claim 
of universal dominion. 

Under Chepe and Sabutai the Mongols attacked and 
ravaged Georgia then ruled by Ruzudan, son of Queen 
Thamar. The region north of Caucasus was laid 
waste and Shamaki, and Derbend taken. InDaghistan 
the Mongols were joined by the Cumans — Turkish no- 
mads from southeastern Russia, the same tribe who 
had ravaged Europe at the call of Cardinal Guido. 
The Russians under Mitislof were crushed; and all 
the towns and villages over a wide region of Russia 
were mercilessly destroyed. This dreadful march of 
Chepe and Subutai is probably the most remarkable 
example of military genius in the annals of warfare. 
Jingis returned home conquering and destroying as he 
went, and died in Linpan, August i8th, 12^27, aged 
sixty- six. But after a few years the impatient "Young 
braves ' urged a renewal of massacre and pillage in 
the west. As usual previous to all their expeditions, 
a Kuriltai, or general assembly of princes and chiefs 
was held to arrange the "plan of campaign." The 
war was accordingly renewed in 1237. Ogotai, son oi 
Jingis, was now Khakhan but did not accompany thi.s 
expedition. From Great Bulgaria to the Caucasian 
Mountains, and from Riazan to Moscow, then an unim- 



212 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

V 

portant town, the terrible Mongols advanced, killing 
and destroying. Indiscriminate slaughter marked their 
track, and fiendish tortures of their prisoners gratified 
their revenge, until "no eye remained open to weep 
for the dead." Vladimir, Novgorod, Kief, Suzdal, 
Kolomna and many other cities were taken and the 
inhabitants massacred except some stragglers. Nov- 
gorod the Great, a celebrated emporium of commerce, 
and a member of the Hanseatic league, was threat- 
ened; but Kosusk was visited by a "carnival of death," 
and its captors named it the "city of woe." The Kip- 
chaks allied to the Comans were next defeated, and 
Kotiak, their king, driven with thousands of his peo- 
ple into Moravia. Some of these Kipchaks were sold 
as slaves to the Egyptian sultan, Malekel-Saleb; and 
about the middle of this century became the founders 
of the Boharit dynasty of the Memlooks. From Russia 
the invaders advanced on Hungary. The passes were 
forced; and while one division advanced against Bela, 
another assailed Poland, and defeated and killed the 
palatine of Sandomir and Cracow. Many thousands 
fled to Germany; and multitudes more were driven 
into the morasses and forests. The united Christian 
armies lay prostrate on the plain of the Keiss, April 
gth, 1241, near the village of Wahlstadt. Nine sacks 
of ears were filled by the Mongols, each one of these 
ghastly trophies representing a corpse. Thence to 
Lignitz, Bolatz, and on to Moravia, At the same 
time Silesia was so terribly depopulated that German 
colonists found the land unoccupied. The neighbor- 
hood of Troppau in Moravia, was wasted so grievously 
that Przemysl Otakar in 1247, son of King Wenzel, who 
became crown prince in that year on the death of 
Vladislav, granted an annual market to aid in re- 



THE TARTARS 213 

storing its prosperity. The plain country and all the 
smaller towns of Moravia were ravaged, and the 
slaughter of the inhabitants must have ended in their 
annihilation but that the country abounded in forests 
and natural caverns which concealed the wretched fu- 
gitives. The prosperity of Moravia received a very 
severe blow, and did not recover itself for a century. 
In some respects an injury was committed that has 
never been repaired. The spirit of the country was 
broken. One splendid achievement throws a light of 
electric splendor through the darkness of these afflict- 
ing woes. The city of Olmiitz, situated in a district 
called the Hauna, necessarily attracted the blood- 
thirsty fury of the Mongols. Here the patriot valor 
of the province had assembled, and during several 
days an obstinate and bloody struggle evinced the 
vigor and tenacity of both armies. Driven to a hill 
the Moravian host intrenched themselves. Weary 
with toil and exposure and maddened by thirst the 
troops were with difficulty nerved to the combat by 
the stern valor of their leaders. At length the oppor 
tune arrival of Jaroslav of Sternberg with a strong 
force of Bohemian and Carinthian patriots infused 
courage and hope into the besieged. The battle which 
followed was furiously contested ; but Jaroslav earned 
and received an immortal renown which has enshrined 
his name foreverin the annals of Moravia. Defeated 
and broken, the Mongols evacuated the province 
where their ferocity had created a desert.* The towns 

* Much elaborate discussion has been wasted on the story of this 
battle. Some "learned Thebans, " have referred the date to 1252 or 
1253; and one in particular, — Wolff, — has employed many pages in an 
attempt to demonstrate that the later date is correct instead of 1241; 
and has labored to prove that Jaroslav earned his encomiums in a 
contest with the Hungarians and Comans. The poems that recapitu- 
ate Jaroslav's great exploit, and signalize him as the Charles Martel 



214 HIS TOR Y OF B OH EM I A 

t)f Mraditch, Littan, Privan, Gevitch and Brunn had 
b^en devastated; and Otakar transferred new inhabit- 
ants to repeople the waste, and conferred important 
privileges and exemptions. 

The might of Hungary was laid low on the heath 
of Mohi; and the most terrible carnage ever known 
in the annals of the kingdom succeeded the rout of 
it3 defenders. Pesth and Buda fell, and the victors 
advanced with fierce rapacity to Croatia. Thence 
they passed into Servia and Upper Dalmatia, through 
the district of Ragusa, and laid Cattaro in ashes. Al- 
bania was next trodden down and the towns of Doi- 
vach and Drivasto near Scutari were burned. While 
this body was thus in pursuit of Bela, another divi- 
sion assailed Austria, but was defeated on the north- 
ern march. A second army approached Vienna; but 
a strong force of Bohemians and Carinthians under 
King Wenzel, the dukes of Austria and Carinthia and 
the Marquis of Baden compelled them to retreat. 
Batu, the Mongol general, hearing of the death of 
Ogotai, the Khakhan, after the death of Jingis, Decem- 
ber nth, 1141, ordered a general retreat. But before 
quitting Europe, Subutai invaded southern Hungary, 
and a dreadful slaughter of the inhabitants ensued. 
The land was utterly laid waste, and the destroyers 

of Moravia, are too closely filled with details that correspond with 
Mongol manners and habits, and agree too specifically with the facts 
of veritable history to allow us to believe that they were not derived 
from real events. The advance, the mode of warfare, the appearance, 
the strict discipline, the severe subordination of the invaders are all 
strictly correct. The Bohemian, Austrian, and Hungarian sovereigns 
acted in concert in 1241 under the hard necessity of a dreadful peril. 
In 1253 their old feuds had been revived. The rescue of Olmutz 
must be referred to the earlier date; the songs correspond to the state- 
ments of at least one eye witness of the event. 



THE TARTARS 215 

traversed forests in order to discover everything that 
had escaped their former invasion. A crowd of Hun- 
garians and slaves were induced to quit the camp un- 
der pretense of amnesty; but as in all similar cases, 
they were then overtaken and massacred, 

Bela only returned from his retreat in the islands of 
the Adriatic when he was well assured of the entire 
disappearance of his foes. He found his country a 
desert ; and famine was completing the work that the 
Mongols had begun. These dread events had filled 
Europe with terror. Gregory IX. issued letters filled 
with words of alarm. "Many things occupy our at- 
tention," he said, "the unhappy condition of the Holy 
Land, and the lamentable state of the Roman empire, 
but we will not name them, we will forget them in 
presence of the evils caused by the Tartars. The 
notion that they will extirpate the Christian name 
shatters our bones and dries up our marrow." Bat 
Gregory had not thought proper to weigh the fact 
that the dissensions created in Europe through the 
extravagant demands and pernicious intrigues of his 
predecessors and himself, the animosities sown among 
European princes and nations by papal emissaries in 
the interest of the papal temporal power, created 
divisions, and paralyzed the arm of Europe in the day 
when all her manhood was needed against the ruth- 
less destroyers from the steppes. The camps of the 
champions of Christendom, in the very presence of 
the Mongols, were filled with political and religious 
strife created out of the pretensions of popes against 
kaisar or against king; and as in the earlier days of 
Goth and Saracen many witnessed without regret their 
domestic foes overwhelmed by foreign aggressors. In 
all such cases the rugged equity of the barbarians 



2i6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

meted out merited chastisement, declaring that traitors 
deserved no mercy.* 

The Mongol Tartars who constituted the ruling tribe 
in the nordes of Jingis and the combining race in the 
motely host of Turkish nomads who devastated Eu- 
rope, possessed all the cunning, ferocity, treachery, 
wile, and ingenuity, undiluted by the smallest ingre- 
dient of pity or remorse, that rendered them the most 
destructive foes that ever swept over any country. 
The scenes which they converted from smiling gar- 
dens into desolate heaps were eventually restored in- 
deed to moderate prosperity; but the ancient had 
been obliterated, and was replaced by a palimpsest 
civilization, far weaker in character, and more dim in 
outline than the former. The terror of their invasion 
spread to the coasts of the Baltic and Atlantic. The 
fishermen of Scandinavia forsook the fisheries as early 
as 1238, and scarcity of means of exportation greatly 
depressed the price of herrings in London and other 
parts of England. t The symbol of their authority was 
a yak's tail which was borne on a Tuk or T shaped 
cross-pole. To this were attached the shoulder blades 
of a sheep placed also cross wise, X; and frequently 
the bleeding head of some prominent enemy was car- 
ried on the top, presenting a ghastly realism of 
Death's Head and Cross Bones, fitly symbolizing the 

* The extent to which these quarrels were carried may be under- 
stood from the contemporary condition of the city of Plotemais, then 
almost the sole remnant of the later kingdom of Jerusalem. The 
space within the fortifications, consisting of an outer and an inner 
line, was again divided into sections, each fortified against the rest. 
The feuds of the various nations and clans, and the animosities that 
sprang from political jealousy, and the aspirations of orders together 
with the harangues of friars and bishops against factions condemned 
by the pope, produced such strong antipathies that each party fortified 
itself against the rest within their only fortress. 

f Gibbon VI. 219 note 



THE TARTARS 217 

murderously savage spirit of the bandit bands that 
made it. The red hand of a Sioux chief, or a Gaelic 
O'Brien, even when borrowed by a grim vexil larius 
of Rome, was a tender emblem beside it. 

Placed between Greek and Latin influences and 
potentially "acted on by both, the Bohemian commons 
had remained steadfast to the old traditions of the 
country, and the free toleration that had characterized 
their Greek instructors and principles. The court 
had imbibed some of the spirit of Rome; and the new 
policy of the Bohemian king was mainly, though not 
exclusively, directed by Roman counsels. The tone 
assumed by the papal legates was that of warning 
and of menace; and the superstitious mind of the age 
lent stress to their terrorizing. The Latin empire of 
Constantinople was in the throes of its struggle against 
the united forces of the Greeks of Asia, and the Bul- 
garians and their Cumanian Turkish allies. The tide 
of success had set strongly in favor of the recovery 
of the Greek empire, that occurred twenty years later. 
The Bulgarian proselyte, Calojohn, having been igno- 
miniously repulsed by Baldwin in 1205, and ordered 
to express his repentance by touching the imperial 
footstool with his forehead, had reserved the outward 
manifestation of his resentment. The conspiracy of 
the Greeks against their Latin masters, the mas- 
sacre of the strangers that reddened the pavement of 
Demotica, and then poured streams of French and 
Venetian blood along the channels of Adrianople, 
afforded Calo John the opportunity that he coveted, 
and helped to create. The military insubordination 
of the Count of Blois before Adrianople, and the rout 
of the Latin ami}' and captivity of the emperor Bald- 
win, all seriously contributed to shake the Latin throne 



2 1 8 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMfA 

of Constantinople, and relieve Bohemia from Roman 
pressure on that side. Apprehension of the effects of 
western policy in the minds of Bulgarians, Hunga- 
rians, Bohemians and Moravians, and the neighboring 
populations declined. "The diminished strength and 
waning proportions," of the imported Latin empire 
became more conspicuous, and the policy of neighbor- 
ing states was necessarily affected. Calo John, al- 
though a proselyte was also a Bulgarian, although no 
longer solely a Bulgarian; and his ambition was stim- 
ulated by the prospect of provinces or alliances. The 
insult offered to him by Emperor Baldwin, although 
terribly avenged, was not forgotten. Tlie pope's re- 
monstrances fell on deaf ears. The assassination of 
Calo John in his tent at the siege of Thessalonica, in 
no degree affected the policy of his successor. Azan 
effected a formidable alliance with Vataces, emperor 
of Nice; and although John of Brienne obtained two 
victories before Constantinople, yet the extreme im- 
policy of Pope Innocent in enthroning young Bald- 
win on his right hand at the council of Lyons en- 
flamed the national and religious sensibilities of the 
Greeks and rendered their resolution more stubborn. 
The contemptuous reprimand to young Baldwin at 
Dover; the equally or more contemptuous permission 
to him to continue his begging enterprises in that 
kingdom, the pope's lavish contribution of indulgen- 
ces, a kind of money not current in Greece, and con- 
sidered spurious; the unholy alliance of Baldwin 
with Cumanian Turks, although well known as papal 
cohorts on previous occasions ; the sacrifice of a dog 
and the taste of each others' blood by the contracting 
parties, scenes avowedly enacted in the interest of 
papal dominion, the hypothecation by Baldwin of the 



THE TARTARS 219 

Very "crown of thorns" to a Venetian money lender were 
all sources of wonder to the earnest fighters who had 
built military policies on the rules of campaigning 
and of sense. The Greek and Bulgarian thundered 
at the doors of Constantinople, and all the baby linen, 
skulls, Moses' rods accumulated by the credulous 
could not avert the wrath of the marshaled legions of 
Vataces. 

During these commotions fugitives from the south 
of France retreated to Hungary and Bohemia in in- 
creasing numbers. These persons became so numer- 
ous and well established that in Bohemia, Austria, 
Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia at the close 
of the century they amounted to a large population ; 
and after the Mongol ravages their intelligence and 
industry greatly assisted in restoring the prosperity 
of the country districts and smaller towns and vil- 
lages. 

The position of Hungary after the well known Diet 
of 1222, when the Golden Bull of Hungarian constitu- 
tional common law was recognized as expressing the 
law of the land, was extremely favorable to the in- 
crease of independent religious communities. The 
royal revenues were allowed to remain in the hands 
of Jews and Mahomedans; many persons adopted the 
faith of these tax gatherers; and in man}' respects it 
was esteemed more respectable to be a Jew or a Ma- 
homedan than an orthodox Roman Christian. Full 
toleration for all sects was a necessity; and the land 
became in large measure an asylum for men of inde- 
pendent faith. But the pope thundered and Robert, 
archbishop of Gran, laid the whole land under an in- 
terdict; and Andrew H. bequeathed an inheritance of 
distress to his successor, Bela IV. in 1235. 



220 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

In addition to the relics before mentioned, Andrew 
brought home a more valuable freight in the person 
of the daughter of the illustrious Lascaris, emperor of 
the Greeks, as the bride of his son Bela. The schol- 
arly influences of this princess and her court found 
little employment, however, on account of the des- 
olation of destruction wrought by Batu and Subutai. 

As in England at the same period the nobles of 
Hungary were encouraged by local prelates to contend 
for popular privileges, for the purpose of depressing 
and humiliating the sovereign ; and when the prince 
was sufficiently degraded, and found more pliant in 
the hands of his Roman persecutor, then he was up- 
held as a feudal servant of the pope in opposition to 
the estates of the realm. This programme obtained 
more or less success according to local conditions. The 
union of the prince of Hungary with a daughter of 
the steadfast enemy of the Latin empire of Constanti- 
nople, and rival of the young protege of Innocent IV. 
was as distasteful to the court of Rome as the predi- 
lections of Frederic II. for his Sicilian Saracen serv- 
ants, and his manly advocates, Peter de Vineis and 
Thaeddaus of Suessa. The turbulence of the nobles, 
the rapacity of the clergy who were the exacting col- 
lectors for papal exchequers, distracted the country 
and prevented its recuperation after the Mongol in- 
vasion. So distressing was the condition of affairs, 
that on his return from the islands of Issa and Bua 
where the non-seamen could not invade his secure re- 
treat, Bela found his country in ruins. Wild beasts 
had become so numerous that wolves robbed the cra- 
dles of their infant occupants; and a swarm of locusts 
devoured every vestige of green in the land. Carrion 
became common food and human flesh was publicly 



THE TARTARS 111 

sold in market. Bela invited strangers, distributed 
alms of his scanty resources; and his bounty possibly 
included some of the remnant of the parsimonious ad- 
vance made to him on his flight by the duke of Aus- 
tria, on security of a large portion of his estates. 
During this period the Waldensian manufacturers 
and traders found their opportunity. German colonists 
also came in ; and some prospect appeared of a resto- 
ration cf life if not of prosperity. But Gregory IX. 
reveled in his schemes of crusading frenzy; and even in 
his extremit}' Bela was speedily warned to expend his 
small resources against the Bulgarian ally of his own 
father-in-law, John Asan, in aid of the decrepit Latin 
empire of Constantinople then in the last stage of 
tottering caducity. The legate James had fomented 
discord as Pandulph had done in England; and even 
the archbishop became incensed against his insolent 
exactions. These scenes and events transpiring in the 
most neighboring realm whose every breath of public 
experience was intimately felt m Bohemia, produced, 
the motor causes of other events in Bohemia itself 
within a few short years. 

While the states of Europe were full of commotion 
and strife, legates were commissioned to preach an- 
other crusade against the Saracens. From these ex- 
peditions the only persons that could draw profit were 
the preaching friars who occupied where the peasant 
and the artizan had withdrawn, and the bishop who 
ruled in pomp where the soldier and his retainers had 
left a vacant authority to be usurped. By every spe- 
cies of inducement all the chivalry of France had 
been enticed to arms; and King Louis did not dis- 
dain deceitfulness* in order to enlist the ingenuous 

* It was customary for the sovereigns of France at great solemnities 
to distribute capotes or mantles to such of these retainers as were at 



222 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

youth of his kingdom in his infatuation. In France 
men asked in wonder whence came the right to im- 
pose such sacrifices and inflict such contentions on 
mankind. A strong confederacy was formed agamst 
the criminal exactions of the clergy. This combina- 
tion rendered eminent service during the absence of 
the king; and the liberties of the Gallican church 
have been referred to the principles of independent 
protest established at that period. 

England was agitated by the contentions between 
Henry III. and his estates. When the bishop of 
Berytus proceeded thither to preach a crusade he was 
sternly refused permission, and Henry repudiated his 
proceedings. England was entitled the pope's farm. 
Martin the collector of papal revenues was driven from 
the country at the peril of his life. "Arise, get thee 
forth! Depart at once from England," was Fulk Fitz 
Warrenne's stern mandate. "The devil take thee away 
to hell," was Henry's indignant imprecation, in answer 
to a demand for safe conduct for the extortioner who 
had pillaged the kingdom with "depredations and in- 
iquities." 

The assumption of scarlet as their distinguishing 
color by the cardinals at the council of Lyons in 1245, 
under the express command of Innocent, as an emblem 
of their readiness to shed blood, was a sign full of 
menace to mankind. At this council, high above all 
his compeers, Thaddseus of Suessa, the lawyer — knight 

court. These gifts were styled livrees — our word livery- — because de- 
livered by the prince in person. Louis ordered a large number of 
these mantles to be prepared for Christmas eve, embroidered with a 
cross in silk and gold. These were distributed before the tapers were 
lit for vespers. As soon as the young nobles entered the light they 
discovered the emblem of devotion to the crusade, and although taken 
by surprise, they were too chivalrous to refuse an acceptance of the 
vow thus deceitfully imposed on them. 



THE TARTARS 223 

advocate of Frederic II., exhibited his splendid im- 
peachment of the vindictiveness of Innocent. "I ap- 
peal," he said, "from this pope to a future, a more 
gentle, a more Christian pope." The example of 
Thaddaeus was not lost upon his successors. These 
events are here recorded, with great brevity, as the}' 
formed an esential portion of the contemporary edu- 
cation of Bohemian statesmen. The warnings thus 
loudly uttered by the universal experience of outraged 
and plundered Europe were much more heeded by the 
barons and nobles and allodial proprietors of Bohe- 
mia than by King Wenzel. Occupied by dynastic 
aspirations at this period this sovereign was absorbed 
by efforts to extend his estates, and enlarge the do- 
minions of his house. The condition of the duchy of 
Austria created many hopes. Frederic the Warlike 
was childless, and the heiress presumptive was prin- 
cess Gertrude, his niece. Hardly had the Mongols 
disappeared when Frederic was again in arms. He 
assailed Hungary and destroyed what little appeared 
after the devastations of his Asiatic rivals. Bohemia 
was next atttacked; but as the troops then almost uni- 
versally employed were mercenary cutthroats from 
every where, Frederic's bands deserted in apprehension 
of punishment; and being in a sorry plight he purchased 
grace by consent to the betrothal of Gertrude to prince 
Vladislav, heir presumptive of Bohemia. Up to this 
date Wenzel had been a supporter of the emperor; 
and the strife of parties extended to the state digni- 
taries. In Olmiitz a violent quarrel created rival bish- 
ops elect; and each party appealed to Rome. One of 
the candidates, Conrad of Hildesheim, was an imperi- 
alist. He was sustained by Wenzel; but both were 
set aside by Innocent IV. who nominated Bruno of 



224 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Holstein and Schaumberg. Wenzel positively refused 
his consent to surrender the see to this person, and 
Bohemia was at once laid under interdict by the arch- 
bishop of Bremen. 

An important success over Ulrich of Lundenberg, 
Wenzel' s representative in Austria in 1246, enabled 
Frederic again to assume a role. A prohibited degree 
of consanguinity was alleged to exist between Vlad- 
islav and Gertrude, but the needful dispensation — that 
convenient inclined plane by which principle may be 
made to slide awa}' to make room for expediency — 
was forwarded from Rome. This 5'ear Frederic was 
killed in a skirmish at Leitha in Hungary; and 
a period of confusion succeeded. Prince Vladislav 
died in 1247 and Przemysl Otakar became heir pre- 
sumptive. During this interval the emperor claimed 
Austria as a fief and Wenzel became his enemy. Be- 
ing thus an ally of Innocent the King of Bohemia and 
three other electors — the archbishops of Ma3^ence, Co- 
logne and Treves — raised William of Holland to the 
perilous elevation of claimant elect of the empire. On 
returning to his estates Wenzel required- -from his 
barons arid commons a full acceptance of the new em- 
peror elect as their imperial suzerain. But at this 
point the experiences of European states during the 
last quarter of a century operated as a severe check 
on any manifestation of approval, still less of com- 
pliance on the part of the Bohemians. They perceived 
that it was not an emperor who had been elected but 
a Roman pro-consul. They observed an absolute 
transfer of the seat of authority in Germany from the 
north to the south of the Alps; and the Bohemian 
estates imitated the example and rivaled the inde- 
pendence of the English parliament who confronted 



THE TARTARS 225 

Henry III. in full armor. Bohemia also must not 
become the pope's farm. Proof of their perspicacity 
became soon apparent. WenzePs error had deprived 
him of the support that all his predecessors had found 
unfailing. Not to the patriotism of his nobles and 
vladykas, not to the manly independence of his sub- 
jects, not. to the ancient honor of Bohemia, not to the 
tried fidelity of native valor, or to any instinct of love 
for home, or altar or fatherland, not to memories of 
fathers, or perils from the aggressor did Wenzel make 
his appeal. He threatened his own people with a 
church interdict. Deeply had he drunk of the cup 
of wile presented by his sister Agnes, abbess of the 
Clarissians. Forthwith the standard of rebellion was 
unfurled; and the angry people elected young Otakar 
as their leader.* 

The prince at once placed himself at the head of 
the national party; and as the king found nobles 
and commons all of one mind, and the resistance uni- 
versal, he resigned his authority, retaining only Klin- 
genberg, Ellbogen, and Brux. These places were 
wrested from him, and Wenzel quitted Bohemia, and 
took refuge in angry vindictive mood with the duke of 
Meissen. Here he at once proceeded to assemble a 
host of mercenary adventurers whom he proposed to 
direct against his own hamlets, villages, and cities. 
Forthwith civil war in its most envenomed form raged 
in Bohemia. The agents of the bishops excited the 
popuJace with every appeal to fanatical passions usual 
in those dark days. The chief weapon consisted of 
denunciations of the flames of hell against recreants 

* Aber die Bhmen weigerten sich. Wie sie der Kaenig durch den 
Kirchenbaum dazu zwingen wollte, sie emporten sie sich wider ihn, 
und trngen seinem sohne Przemisl die Regierung an. Pelzel 124 



226 HI ST OR Y OF B O HE MI A 

to their spiritual directors. The establishments of 
foreign orders under various names had grown numer- 
ous in Bohemia. Each became now a center of inflam- 
matory zeal; pulpits resounded, and spiritual conso- 
lation or hope was poised on the preference for pope 
or kaisar. Village became a foe to village; sounds 
of vengeful strife were heard all through the land. 
This condition of affairs precisely suited the instigator 
of it all. He could cast his influence to one side or 
the other, as he found one party or the other disposed 
to concede to him more authority in the country. The 
land was filled with violence and devastation by the 
hands of its own inhabitants at the instigation of a 
foreigner whose sole purpose was to promote his own 
aggrandisement. But for a thousand years nations 
have been just such fools. In this distracted state 
of the country the adherents of Otakar were com- 
pelled to confront the ravenous mercenaries whom 
King Wenzel and his crusading ecclesiastics had 
enlisted in Brunswick and Brandenburg. Near Briix 
the forces met and Otakar was compelled to flee 
to Prague. The prince refused to see his country de- 
stroyed by a host of invaders; and with a generous 
heroism surrendered to his father. Amnesty was 
granted; and the Marquisate of Moravia was again 
assigned to Otakar. But the discontent was not allayed 
and the prince was imprisoned. Wenzel, however, 
was not sufficiently master to inflict any further pen- 
alty, and the necessities of his dynasty were para- 
mount. The barons were treated with greater harsh- 
ness. Their estates had in many instances been oc- 
upied by partizans of the court; and the original pro- 
prietors were not permitted to disturb them. Many of 
them were arrested and chained two and two on pre- 



THE TARTARS ' 227 

seating a remonstrance to the king and imprisoned for 
some time at Prague. Thus the most patriotic men 
in the kingdom, the men who represented Bohemia 
and her nationality as against external pretensions, 
the men who advocated home interests and native in- 
dependence were smitten down by their own sovereign 
at the bidding of a foreign court. But from that peri- 
od, 1249, the discontent in Bohemia was deep and sul- 
len, and the nation was never again a unit. 

By the death of the emperor in Apulia in 1250 Aus- 
tria became again a prize. The duke of Bavaria 
claimed it as a revolted fief; and Wenzel, now a pro- 
consul of the pope, was easily docile to his master 
and declared war against Bavaria. Bohemia was re- 
garded with much favor by papal sympathizers. The 
land, undefiled by the touch or even the shadow of 
Tartar or Turk preserved its prosperity and constituted 
a mine of wealth for the opponents of the empire. 
Large supplies were constantly drawn from Bohemia 
to aid the adversaries of emperor Conrad, and there 
was no Fulk Fitz Warrenne to chase the spoilers from 
the country. 

The nobles of Austria made proffer of the duchy 
to Otakar, and King Wenzel favored this policy. 
Formal election took place in November, 1251, and the 
prince immediately marched with a large escort to 
take possession of his new dominions. December 
9th he made an imposing entry into Vienna; and 
soon afterward his first official Diet was held in 
compliance with established law. The estates of 
Styria elected Henry, son of Otto of Bavaria, and 
policy dictated the union of all claims of inheritance 
in one family. Rival aspirations appeared likely to 
be satisfied by a marriage between Otakar and Mar- 



228 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

garet, sister of the late duke of Austria. The lad}^ was 
now forty-seven years of age, mother of several chil- 
dren; and had long been an inmate of a nunnery first 
at Treves and afterward at Wurzburg; the gentleman 
was a dashing youth of twenty-three. Margaret quit- 
ted her cloister, and bestowed her hand and hereditary 
pretensions on her youthful husband. When religious 
principles, ceremonies and moral duties are under the 
control of one aspiring direction, they can be made to 
assume a slippery facility of adjustment to momentary 
convenience, an elastic capacity for expansion or con- 
traction to fill any vacancy of any shape; and the 
one power for whose gratification and coffers all this is 
done is the sole judge of the propriety of the proceed- 
ings. The entire proceeding assumed a whited sep- 
ulchre aspect in the eyes of pious society. Archbish- 
ops and bishops and titled nobles, or at least their 
robes and uniforms shed a lustre over the marriage cer- 
emony which was a profanation of all propriety. The 
new duke of Austria and Styria was proclaimed in all 
due formality; but other scenes of a very different 
character immediately succeeded. King Bela's hosts 
of Hungarians and Cumanians swept over Austria, 
and multitudes of all ages were murdered and dragged 
away to slavery. In the church of Modling alone 
1,500 persons were burned. Next year Austria, Styria 
and Moravia became the scene of still more dreadful 
devastation. K league had been formed b}' Bela, and 
his forces were joined by those of the duke of Bavaria, 
Boleslav of Cracow, Vladislav of Oppeln, and Daniel 
Romanoff of Russia. Bela himself broke into Styria, 
and his Cumanian, Polish and Russian horse, — Cos- 
sacks in fact — renewed the atrocities of the Mongols, 
and created similar ravages. Otakar himself succeeded 



THE TARTARS ■ ' 229 

in arresting the enemy in Styria; and the Bavarians 
were compelled to retire from Austria. The for- 
tresses remained unbroken, as the Cumanian ma- 
rauders did not possess the Chinese and Persian engin- 
neering science controlled by Batu, nor the fiery mis- 
siles supplied by Chinese inventive skill to the Mon- 
gol Khakhan. During the negotiations for peace, 
King Wenzel was seized by illness on a hunting foray; 
and resigned his crown and his life September 22nd, 
1253. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



OTAKAR II. 



The reign of Otakar II. over Bohemia was produc- 
tive of consequences so momentous to the kingdom, 
and was also blended so intimately with the vicissi- 
tudes of the empire, that it is necessary to state briefly, 
the prevailing conditions of policies in Europe at that 
date. 

After the death of Frederic II. the empire had been 
reduced to a condition of grievous anarchy. Young 
Conrad, as usual with heirs apparent in those days, 
had been stimulated to rebellion against his father, 
chiefly under the instigation of the legate Albert von 
Behan. This person had been expelled from Bavaria 
for fraudulent malversation; but had found means to 
be advanced from the archdeaconry of Passau to the 
deanery of the same city. His proceedings in his new 
capacity and as chief emissary of Pope Innocent IV. 
exhibit "a repulsive depth of arrogant iniquity." 

The legate in Germany, the bishop of Ferrara, was 
a drunkard if not something worse. Gregory of Monte 
Longo, papal representative in Lombardy, was noto- 
rious for profligacy; and his concubines were shame- 
fully numerous. The rapacity of the Roman see was 
never so insatiate as during the pontificate of InnO' 
cent IV; and the wealth everywhere exacted under 
pretense of a crusade was diverted against the house 
of Hohenstaufen. Young Conrad IV. became heir to 

230 



OTAKAR II 231 

the unswerving hatred against his house ; and the be- 
trayal of his youth into rebellious indiscretion was now 
imputed to him as a crime by the same persons whose 
duplicity had seduced him. The legates had effected 
a complete merger of the temporal and spiritual juris- 
dictions; and they were no longer austere if arrogant 
churchmen. Cardinal Rainier commanded the papal 
forces in the states of St. Peter with all the merciless- 
ness of a captain of banditti. The election of William 
of Holland was assumed to create Conrad a usurper; 
and in that character he was solemnly excommunicated 
and a crusade preached against him. "Herod is dead. 
Archelaus aspires to reign," exclaimed Innocent. In 
an attempt to assassinate Conrad on Christmas day 
1253 Abbott Ulrich is believed to have been the prin- 
cipal actor; and the bishop of the city waited outside 
the walls for the joyful news of success. 

After holding an interview with William of Holland, 
Innocent commenced that triumphal progress through 
Italy that terminated in the withdrawal of support 
from Manfred as regent, then from Conrad himself, 
the introduction of French power into Naples and 
Sicily, and the eventual extinction of the house of 
Hohenstaufen at Naples October 29, 1268. 

Richard of Cornwall could effect little as emperor. 
The disturbed condition of his own country terminat- 
ing in the battle of Lewes prevented Richard from de- 
voting much attention to the empire. 

The splendid expedition pompously led forth by 
Louis IX. had been reduced to a tattered remnant so 
utterly ruined that on the return of the liberated fugi- 
tives to the shelter of Etolemais both knights and 
soldiers were almost naked, and the seneschal of 
Champagne in order to appear before the king was 



232 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

forced to make himself a vestment of the shreds of 
a bed quilt. The only results were tears, groans uni- 
versal, the most christian king in chains; and the 
blessing of the Lord of battles apparently bestowed 
on the magnanimity of the Saracens. France, Ger- 
many, Italy, England, Greece, were convulsed by this 
wild crusading spirit. Haco of Norway and Otakar 
of Bohemia remained at home. Innocent intrigued 
everywhere; and according to the statement of Cher- 
rier,* "Too many facts prove that Innocent was not 
sincere with any person ; that he promised and re- 
tracted with equal readiness according to the condi- 
tion of his affairs." In every state where the prince 
assumed the cross the most pressing affairs were ut- 
terly neglected; and princes, nobles and people were 
alike impoverished. Many illustrious families were 
totally ruined, but the increase of religious houses in 
strength and number was enormous. During all this 
commotion Bohemia remained a spectator; and the 
people were enabled greatly to increase in wealth and 
prosperity. No great prince remained on the borders 
capable of imposing a burdensome restraint. The 
young king enjoyed an open field for the display of his 
talents, and he proved himself fully equal to his op- 
portunities. During the late reign the influence of 
the nobles was broken. The king's council consisted 
of those whom his individual will selected ; the mind 
of the nation was not ascertained in public parlia- 
ment as much as formerly; and in the relations of the 
crown to a foreign court the counsel of the barons was 
thought too conservative and national. In this altered 
relation all union of the nobles was disapproved. The 
civil and military jurisdiction through the districts or 
* T. III., p. 394 



OTAKAR II 233 

circles was vested in the castelans or zupans under 
the old constitution; but Otakar proceeded to erect a 
new source of power more immediately associated with 
the crown. For this purpose he created a series of 
ro3'al municipalities in cities erected on sites chosen 
by royal commission, and directed by the royal cham- 
berlain. Each of these new municipalities was gov- 
erned locally by its own mayor or burggraf; and set- 
tlers from abroad, chiefly Germans, were invited to occu- 
py these cities. Jurisdiction over them was carefully 
protected from all control of the zupans; they were 
attached to the direct authority of the king; and were 
accorded from the first the privilege of choosing dep- 
uties from the burghers to the national assembly. 
"City lots" were sold for ten marks a hide, although 
this measure was not the same in good and poor soil. 
A ground rent of one mark per annum was fixed as 
a peruianent payment to the royal exchequer. But 
city professions were limited to the walls and one 
mile around. The mayors were also subordinated to 
the burg-graf of Prague who became the burg-graf- 
in-chief of the kingdom. Several of these towns were 
erected on the frontier, and being located on the best 
military sites formed a strong defense. 

As the castelans were thus deprived of a large por- 
tion of their civil and criminal jurisdiction, it became 
necessary to establish another institutional process 
whereb}^ justice could be administered between the 
subjects of the one jurisdiction and the other. For 
this purpose assize judges, or circuit judges, were 
nominated to preside over the courts where neither 
of the other authorities had the right to administer 
justice. The principle herein was analogous to that 
found in the system of United States courts to deter- 



234 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

mine litigation between the citizens of the different 
states. Otakar assumed to himself jurisdiction over 
all plaints and causes presented in the zupan's court 
of Prague, which had enjoyed a kind of pre-eminence. 
An Aula Regia, or court of king's bench, was thus or- 
ganized as a permanent institution; and this court 
speedily assumed the chief dignity as Supreme Court, 
or High Court of judicature through the country. To 
this tribunal the royal right to decide causes was trans- 
ferred. The shrievalty duties were entrusted to three 
nobles and three knights in each district. The ser- 
vices of these persons were rendered gratuitously; and 
the office they bore was coveted as a distinction by 
the most distinguished men in the realm. The high 
sheriff in England receives no income from his office; 
and the "commission of the peace," is a personal 
compliment to the judgment and loyalty of the pos- 
sessor. In many other respects the similarity between 
early English and Bohemian institutions is too marked 
to be overlooked. The deliberate transfer of power 
from the nobles to the commons in every country in 
this age was due as much to the need felt by the crown 
for aid against the barons as to any favor to them- 
selves and perhaps more. During the same age a very 
large portion of the national sovereignty in every 
country was supplanted by a foreign influence repre- 
sented and enforced indirectly by aliens whom all men 
were ordered by the same power "to obey." The mem- 
orable "We govern" of 1852 is but a logical continu- 
ation of the same system; and the encroachments of 
Pandulph, Pelagius, Guido, Von Behan, Rainier, 
Gualo, and many others of the same character were 
reproduced with ostentatious significance in these 
well known and portentous syllables of Wiseman. 



OTAKAR II 235 

The crusades had largel}' denuded Europe of its ar- 
tizan class. Almost all of these men perished of the 
sword, the climate, the scurvy, or of a fatal poison 
communciated by a fetid fish of the Nile that fed on 
the carcasses of heroes. The warriors of the cross ate the 
carnivorous sea wolf, which was gorged with the flesh 
of their comrades and their mouths became ulcerated 
so that amputation and excision were constantly nec- 
essary of the poisoned flesh. Thus a large class of 
most useful citizens had been enticed away; and the 
classes who depended on their labor in a subordinate 
capacity became helpless and indigent. Prague had 
suffered grievously from this cause; and Otakar found 
his capital largely occupied by dependents too un- 
skillful now to maintain themselves. Some of the 
suburbs were wholly inhabited by this class. Hence 
Otakar was forced to the expedient of inviting Ger- 
man artizans; and to find accommodation for these 
immigrants removal of many of the Bohemians was 
necessar}'. The right to German law and customs 
was conceded to the new settlers and not a little in- 
tricacy was introduced into the jurisprudence of the 
country. Real estate was held by the Germans under 
a tenure intermediate between fee simple and tenancy. 
The right of occupanc}^ could be sold independently 
of the ownership. Probably right to the value of im- 
provements, or tenant right, accompanied this power 
of vendition. 

During the contest between King Wenzel and his 
nobles much royal property had been hypothecated in 
order to raise funds. Much of this property, fortresses 
and personalty, Otakar was enabled to regain from the 
reluctant lords who held it, on the ground that the 
consideration paid was insufficient for a claim of per- 



236 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

petual alienation. In order to pursue these internal 
improvements Otakar adopted a policy of external 
peace. But scarcely had local troubles been adjusted 
when an order was received from Pope Innocent to 
Otakar to undertake a crusade against the Prussians. 
The war against these primitive people waged by the 
Teutonic Order, the Knights of Christ, and the 
Knights of the Sword, two orders instituted to sub- 
due the pagans of Livonia and seize their land, lasted 
more than two hundred years. At length in 1253 the 
Knights had sufferd a severe defeat; and the grand 
master at once applied to Innocent for reinforcements. 
No application could better suit the temper or present 
situation of the pontiff who was engaged in crusades 
in Europe, Asia and Africa. Otakar was prompt to 
obey this mandate, and occupied the summer of this 
year in preparations. His .policy was to march against 
his new foe when the ice presented a means of crossing 
the marshy land that had been hitherto a chief de- 
fense. Several other princes made haste to equip their 
forces as allies and subordinates of the Bohemian 
king. 

The Prussians resembled the Germans in the fea- 
tures of blue eyes, ruddy cheeks, light hair, robust 
form, and lofty stature; but they spoke the language 
of Lithuania. The chase supplied what the flesh and 
milk of their flocks failed to furnish. Their sheep 
yielded wool sufficient for clothing and the forests 
contained abundance of honey and wax. Money was 
little known. Flax, leather and amber constituted 
their chief industries; and arms were the universal 
pride and profession. They never waged offensive 
wars; but always defended their simple patrimony' 
with true and manly courage. Like the Tartars and 



OTAKAR II 237 

primitive Chinese in Asia, and the Peruvians in Amer- 
ica, the Prussians marked time by knotted strings of 
divers colors; and in deiault of scientific apparatus 
noted the hours by the natural phenomena common to 
all men, of twilight, dawn, sunrise, high noon, even- 
ing. The constellation of the Pleiades heralded their 
seasons. The productions of the earth and the recur- 
ring phenomena of birds and of vegetation gave names 
to the divisions of the year. The month of crows, of 
pigeons, of birch trees, linden trees, the migration of 
birds, fall of leaves, obtained an appropriate appella- 
tion from its own phenomena; and this nomen- 
clature was more natural though less accurate for 
com.putation than our own. Great disasters or violent 
commotions in nature supplied epochs as the basis of 
calculation of dates. 

Among the Prussians, as all other primitive tribes, 
the power of death was vested in the chief because 
that penalty was necessarily inflicted some times, and 
the chief represented the tribe. But the leader in 
war was elected, and then blessed by the high priest. 
The people believed in omens, and the flight of an 
eagle, a crow, a stork, declared victory ; a stag, a 
wolf, a lynx, a sick person, and even an old woman 
presaged defeat. They were not in these respects 
at all more feeble than the votaries of horse-shoes 
over doors, whistling to keep off evil spirits, very 
common in the United States among devotees of one 
special nationality, charms in the pockets, amulets 
on the arms, and the confidence imposed in dried arms 
and limbs by crowned heads especially on occasions 
of approaching maternity. The Prussians scrupulous- 
ly respected the laws of hospitality. The stranger or 
the shipwrecked seaman found certain shelter and pro- 



238 HIS TOE Y OF B O HE MIA 

tection. They had not advanced to that degree of civi- 
lization that consists in inviting people to their houses 
in the name of hospitality to exact from them some 
special benefit, wherein the guest is proficient, in order 
to extract an advantage for nothing by false pretenses. 
Like many other peoples the Prussians were corrupted 
chiefly by the excess of their superstition. They devoted 
human sacrifices to their gods indeed when victori- 
ous, and before entering on an expedition they bound 
a prisoner to a tree and pierced him with arrows. 
But in what respect or to what degree they were in 
this aspect inferior to the orders of warriors whom 
they combated at the period of our story is not ap- 
parent. The knights and princes of Europe had no 
legitimate quarrel with these persons. Every war- 
rior who fell fighting for Prussia had the honor of a 
martyr's death; and the furious superstition that pur- 
sued so-called heretics with fire and sword, and massa- 
cred them by tens of thousands, not sparing tender 
women and helpless infants, differed only in a more 
dreadful atrocity from the sacrifice of a victim under 
a sacred oak. The massacres perpetrated by the 
Christians were the more wicked as they were insti- 
gated by animosity, and not by a mistaken perversion 
of the sacrificial principle which is itself the basis of 
all Christianity. 

A crowd of divinities filled the Prussian valhalla, 
but the chief seat of their rites was at a place called 
Remove where grew an ancient oak. The people 
retained some remnants of old cherubic worship that 
included the highest objects in each class of nature's 
handiwork — the horse, the mountain, the sun, the oak. 
The same cherubic worship prevailed among the an- 
cient Persians; and a hymn in the ritual of the church 



OTAKAR II 239 

of England reproduces the same sentiment under a 
Christian guise.* Tlie funeral ceremonies of the Prus- 
sians included some faint reproaches to the deceased 
for departing to another world, and the presentation 
of valuable gifts. Messages were entrusted to the 
dead man for departed relatives and friends, a custom 
until a recent period observed in the Scottish high- 
lands. Horses, dogs, falcons, even wives and slaves 
were burned with the dead; and eulogies were pro- 
nounced by professional talissons, a word that re- 
sembles the Welsh title for bard. The soul of the 
deceased went aloft in brilliant armor, in the sheen 
of the blazing fuel. Except burning slaves and wives, 
these sentiments cannot be deemed extravagant in an 
age of "mediums," and postoffices to the Virgin as 
at St. lago in Peru, 

On Christmas day, 1254, Otakar united his forces 
with those of the dukes of Silesia at Breslau. Otto 
of Brandenburg next marched in, and was made field 
marshal; at Elbing, Henry of Meissen, Grand Master 
Boppo, and other princes joined the expedition; and 
we find the name of Rudolph of Habspurgh,f subse- 
quently emperor, enrolled among the subordinate com- 
manders. The united host numbered sixty thousand. 
This force far surpassed the strength of the Prussians. 
The oak of Remov6 with its idols was destroyed, and 
as far as possible every accessory of the old rites was 
extirpated. This success was the more gratifying to 
the Bohemians as Adalbert of Prague had suffered 
martyrdom near the oak of Removd. An attempt was 

* The cherubim represented the chief glories of earth, as the sera- 
phim did those of heaven. 

f During this expedition Rudolph's old buff coat formed the subject 
of Otakar's jests, as Rudolph was very poor. Rudolph remembered 
this subsequently. 



240 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

made at resistance in one strong place; but the de- 
fenses could not arrest the march of the crusaders. 
The ramparts were assaulted like Tel-el-Kebir, and 
"twenty minutes" terminated the struggle with the 
total submission of Meldoch. The rite of bap- 
tism was at once imposed on the vanquished chiefs. 
Otakar and his officers conferred their own names on 
the principal converts, and the idolatry of Prussia 
under its old form was no more. The native fortress 
of Aufban on the Pregel was selected, and afterward 
rebuilt in good style; and under the new name of 
Koenigsberg became the capital of Prussia, January 

In 1257 Alphonso the Learned of Castile, a kinsman 
of the Hohenstaufen famil}^, received the suffrages of 
Treves, Bohemia, Saxony and Brandenburg. But al- 
though a scholar Alphonso was unequal to the govern- 
ment even of his own dominions, and the election was 
annulled. Disorder in the empire lasted nearly twenty 
years. Otakar was thus enabled to pursue his own 
policy without molestation. Civil commotion in Styria 
invited Bela of Hungary to interpose, and an army 
invaded Carinthia. From this period commenced a 
feeling of animosity toward the fiungarian rule that 
advanced to momentous proportions throughout Styria. 
The cause of these commotions seems to have lain in 
the desire of Hungary to secure a commercial outlet 
on the Adriatic in order to take advantage of the great 
commerce then active between Venice, Zara and the 
cities of Sicil}^ Eg^^pt and the Levant. Otakar also 
understood the value of a seaport on the Adriatic, and 
succeeded in obtaining it partly by his election as 
duke of Austria and St3'ria, partl}^ b}^ conquest and 
coxihrmation by special charter from the emperor 



OTAKAR II 



241 



Richard of Cornwall. The nobles and burghers in 
a formal deputation presented a memorial to Otakar 
1259, praying him to resume his former authority over 
Styria and Carinthia. An avowed rupture with Hun- 
gary resulted. Beia assembled a mighty host of 
Croatians, Bosnians, Servians, Bulgarians, Greeks, 
Wallachians, Cumanians and Kharesmian Turks and 
Ismaelites. An auxiliary force of Tartar cavalry com- 
pleted this motley host that numbered one hundred 
and forty thousand men. The prize to be fought for 
consisted of the entire control of the eastern coast of 
the Adriatic with its ports, islands and trade. The 
wealth of the European commercial world was largely 
directed through that great highway at that date. The 
liberation of Venetian commerce from its control by 
special guilds, and its complete extension to all the 
citizens granted early in this century, created an im- 
mense extension of the trade of the city with Spain, 
Sicily, France, the Netherlands, England and the 
coasts of Africa. Otakar was the first Bohemian prince 
able to reach out toward this most profitable traffic. 
Otakar's force did not exceed one hundred thousand 
including contingents from Brandenburg, Meissen, 
Silesia and Carinthia. The king commanded a special 
force of seven thousand heavy armed cavalry. Europe 
watched the approaching contest with interest if not 
with anxiety. Early in the campaign the Hungarians 
gained an important advantage by the tactics of the 
Tartar system. By a feigned flight the overweighted 
cavalry of the Bohemians were induced to pursue 
their active opponents; but when the pursuers were 
out of breath the Tartars returned and slaughtered 
them when incapable of nimble movement. This 
check threatened serious consequences; but the author- 



242 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ity of Otakar maintained order. At length both ar- 
mies approached each other at Kressenbrunn on the 
March, The stream divided the contestants, and 
neither dared to cross in the face of the other. After 
a week of mutual observation a feigned retreat of the 
Bohemians induced Bela to permit the passage of the 
river. The Hungarian host under the command of the 
young King Stephen and his brother Bela advanced 
in a half circle to encompass Otakar. The Bohemians 
were not in full force at the point of attack. The 
shock was met chiefly by the armored cavalry who not 
only successfully resisted their lighter opponents, but 
repulsed them in disorder. The Hungarian line was 
broken; and the confusion extended to the wings. 
At this juncture other divisions of the Bohemians 
reached the field and assumed the offensive. The 
panic spread. King Stephen was severely wounded. 
The Hungarian host which had most imprudently 
engaged with a considerable river in their immediate 
rear, struggled to repass the stream. The number 
of bodies of men and horses was so great that the en- 
tire bed of the river was filled, and the pursuers could 
cross on the dam thus formed.* The carnage was very 
great. The Hungarian camp and equipages and mu- 
nitions were speedily in the hands of their triumphant 
antagonists; and the scattered bodies of their force 
were chased to the Carpathian Mountains. July 12, 
1260. Hungary was prostrated by this dreadful de- 
feat; and King Bela speedily concluded peace and 
relinquished all claim to the province of Styria. A 

* The best account of this battle is found in Otakar's correspond- 
ence with Pope Alexander. The choked condition of the river is thus 
expressed; — "iiber der ersossenen corper und ihre Rosz so in wasser 
gelegen gleich wie iiber eine Briicken trieben." 



OTAKAR II 243 

marriage alliance was also concluded between Bela 
the younger of Hungary, and Kungiunde, daughter of 
Otto of Brandenburg, a niece of King Otakar. Ru- 
dolph of Habsburg is said to have held a cavalry com- 
mand under Otakar during these operations. Import- 
ant commercial advantages seem to have accrued to 
Bohemia. About this date Venice accorded a special 
mart to the German nationalities; and Bohemians en- 
joyed similar privileges. The overland trafBc passed 
through Styria and continued to do so for seventeen 
years. Venice and Zsira and other Adriatic ports car- 
ried on an active commerce with Sicily, Alexandria, 
Barcelona and Cadiz. Even English and Flemish 
ships frequented these ports; and English, French and 
Holland merchandise was conveyed in Venetian ships 
through the Levant. From this period for sixteen 
years Bohemia was a maritime country; and it is to 
this date, 1260 1276, that the scenes in Shakespeare's 
Winter's Tale are to be referred. Otakar and the last 
Hohenstaufens were intimately acquainted; and the 
"learned pundits" who have attributed a geographical 
error to the immortal William overlooked one of the 
most interesting facts in modern history. The coast 
of Dalmatia also bordering on the Bohemian territory 
was still deser-t since the ravages of the Tartars; and 
in the minutest particulars Shakespeare was right * 
The entire kingdom of Hungary might have been 
subjugated by Bohemia after the dreadful defeat of 
Kressenbrunn. But Otakar heeded the counsels of 
prudence, and declined to dismember or subdue a 
neighboring and a friendly power under ordinary cir- 

* See Winter's Tale; — 

"Thou'rt perfect then our ship hath touched upon the desert of 
Bohemia." 



244 J^^S TOR Y OF B ORE All A 

cumstances; being convinced that it was wiser to al- 
low a strong barrier to exist between himself and the 
wild destroyers of th's East, than to extend the limits 
of the realm he should be himself required to defend; 
and that too in presence of a subjugated population 
who might be expected to. make common cause with 
an invader. "Although the general opinion was that 
we might extend our authority over Hungary" he 
wrote to Pope Alexander, "yet we thought it better 
to retain a good friend and neighbor, than to destroy 
him b}^ further hostility; and as we hoped that a re- 
conciliation might lead to an intimate friendship with 
Oiir next relative, so we preferred to form a friendly 
alliance with him, inasmuch as the waste, and debili- 
tation of so great a kingdom might easily facilitate 
an inroad of the Tartars against him and against 
ourselves." Well' would it have been for the world 
if the head of Christendom through that century 
had been filled with equally human wisdom. 

Otakar celebrated his victory by erecting a fortress 
on the scene of his triumph, and conferring on it cit- 
izens and territory; and by founding a monastery, 
sanctified by a thorn from the crown of Christ, called 
first the Thorn Crown, and subsequently the Golden 
Crown monastery.* 

The greatness of his exaltation naturally directed 
Otakar's attention to considerations for the succes- 
sion. He had a great kingdom; but legally he was 
childless — the sole survivor of his race. His marriage 
with Margaret was 

"Begun in folly, closed in tears." 
so far as matrimonial felicity was concerned. A more 

* If the thorn was genuine then the Venetian who advanced his 
money on the complete crown was cheated by the Latin crusaders. 
But separate thorns were numerous enough to compose many crowns. 



OTAKAR II 245 

youthful and attractive maid of honor monopolized 
the king's affections, as all the world might and prob- 
ably did expect; and a son and two daughters grew 
up round him whom he openly recognized. The pope 
refused his assent to a recognition of the young Fitz 
Otakar; and therefore men set their thoughts on a di- 
vorce from Margaret. The neglected lady, probably 
only too glad to be relieved of a position that was 
humiliating, being then fifty-five, while Otakar was 
thirty-three years of age, supplied abundant materials 
from her own history to justify the divorce proceed- 
ings in the eyes of casuists who could decide on their 
sufficiency in any event. Margaret declared in the 
presence of bishops that after the death of her first 
husband she had assumed the veil as a nun at Treves, 
and had resided at the convent of St. Mark, at Wurz- 
burg as a professed nun for more than a year. All 
these facts were well known. But they were hushed 
up for a time until it became convenient to divulge 
them. The solemn farce of recalling these facts, as 
of something not hitherto ascertained, was the essence 
of palpable hypocrisy. The divorce was sanctioned 
as readily as the marriage had been. Negotiations 
were begun for a marriage alliance between Otakar 
and Kunigunde, Bela's granddaughter, child of Ros- 
tislaw Michaeloff of Russia. The ceremony was per- 
formed with great splendor at Presburg, October 25, 
1261. 

The coronation, a ceremony as yet unperformed, 
speedily followed the king's marriage; and on this 
occasion Otakar officially assumed the title of King of 
Bohemia. A formal approval of the annulment of 
the king's former marriage, and of the new alliance 
was shortly afterward received from Rome; and dur- 



246 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ing the same year, 1262, a confirmation to Otakar of 
his hereditary right to Bohemia and Moravia, and a 
full investiture in the fiefs of Austria and Styria was 
despatched from Aixla-Chapelle, as of possessions le- 
gally at the bestowal of the empire, by Richard of 
Cornwall who highly valued Otakar's friendship.* 

In Styria, however, some dissatisfied nobles had 
incited 3'oung Frederic, son of the duchess Gertrude to 
the assumption of the title of Duke of Austria. This 
prince who subsequently shared the dreadful fate of 
Conradin at Naples was compelled to retire from the 
province. 

After devoting a year to the complete pacification 
and order of his states Otakar, now within reach of 
boundless wealth by sea and land, found himself in 
possession of leisure and of means to complete the 
arrangements for the wedding festivities intended to 
celebrate the nuptials of his niece Kunigunde of Bran- 
denburg and Bela the younger of Hungary, at Vienna 
the second capital of Bohemia. The preparations for 
this event were on the grandest scale of magnificence 
known to royalty at that period. A city of tents was 
erected outside the walls for the reception of guests; 
and each pavilion was adorned with tapestries and 
rich carpets and banners. A bridge of boats, wide 

* This important state Muniment is too long for insertion here in 
full. The important portion is subjoined "nos te pro tuae devotionis 
meritis plenius et insignius honorare volentes, tibi et tuis legitimis 
hasredibus, qui tibi in bonis feudalibus secundum jus et consuetudi- 
nem Sacri Imperii de jure poterunt et habebunt succedere, pro nobis 
et successoribus nostris Imperatoribus, et Regibus Rom. illos duos 
nobiles Principatus, Ducatum videlicet Austriae et Marchionatum 
Styriae ad manum Imperii et nostram de jure libere devolutos, cum 
omnibus feudis ad dictos duos Principatus pertinentibus, ab Imperio 
debitum at coasultum teneri, integraliter et simpliciter in feudum con- 
cedimus et dbnamus, tibique et ligitimis tuis haeredibus, quemadmod- 
um est prescriptum, jure et titulo feudali perpetuo possidentes." 
Goldast, App, Doc, XVII. 



OTAKAR II 247 

enough to allow the passage of ten knights abreast 
spanned the river. Immense magazines of provisions 
and fodder were provided; The royal stewards were 
supplied with luxuries for the table and with wines 
from all accessible lands. These bounties were freely 
furnished to all the multitude at the king's expense. 
Crowds of titled and distinguished persons thronged 
to the scene from all parts of Europe, and a fleet of 
merchant ships was at hand laden with every luxury. 
Troops of gallant cavaliers from all lands hastened 
to display their skill and prowess in the tournaments 
that were announced for the occasion; and the num- 
ber of these valiant knights was so great that no op- 
portunit}^ could be afforded to the great majorit}' to 
display their might in arms. Lots were therefore 
drawn and the successful aspirants awaited their turn 
to contend in the lists, each cavalier distinguished 
by a badge of the Bohemian colors white and red,* 
upon his helmet. The formal procession was re- 
splendent in magnificence, and in the rich and costly 
array of decorations borne by the gay and thronging 
assemblage. Conspicuous for splendor of attire the 
bride herself, arrayed in robe of purple and gold and 
glistening with jeweled embroideries, her mantle 
fringed with trimmings of pearls, and bearing a tiara 
ablaze with the brilliancy of diamonds, outshone even 
the splendor of the royal and noble dames who rendered 
the great scene bright with their beauty and their at- 
tire. The festival was held in a splendid pavilion 
hung with cloth of velvet and gold, and made ga)^ 
with pennons, and banners and festoons. In this 
wide tent the marriage settlements were concluded, 

* I believe that these colors were adopted when the national cogni- 
zance was changed from an eagle to a lion as before narrated. 



248 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the royal banquet was spread, and the religious cere- 
mony was performed. The distinguished champions of 
the lists were presented with their meed of praise; 
and the honor of knighthood conferred on many as- 
pirants from the provinces of the realm, and from neigh- 
boring kingdoms. But the mighty throng dispersed 
never to meet again, and but for the memory of his- 
tory the great festivity was as a dream. October 5, 
1264. 

The king was made glad by the birth of a daughter 
the following year; and received many felicitations on 
the prospect of a successor to his crown. 

At this period Otakar was in the enjoyment of a 
prosperity and reputation which far exceeded that of 
any other sovereign in Europe. Louis IX. had returned 
to his distracted kingdom in a pitiable condition, 
humbled but not a wiser man. Italy was confusion 
from end to end. Germany knew onl}^ political and 
social chaos. Spain struggled with tha Moors who 
were yet enthroned in her fairest provinces. England 
was replete with dissatisfaction, and her monarch felt 
his crown too ponderous for his strength. Prussia 
was not yet but only was to be. Russia contained 
the germ of an empire not yet beyond the cotyledon 
of development. Scandinavia lay in obscurity pos- 
sessing little wealth or power. Constantinople 
writhed in a renascent struggle for existence if not for 
dominion. Bohemia stood alone in the strong union 
of an established nationality, an hereditary dynasty 
implanted in the affections of the people ; military re- 
nown supported b}^ wide territories and enriched by 
distant commerce, and above all by the sturdy de- 
fense of a thriving population. The counsels of her 
sovereign were wisdom to the rulers of his time; and 



OTAKAR II 249 

great princes vied with each other in the honor of be- 
ing his allies. 

During the repose of this period the school for the 
study of the literary course known as thetrivium was 
re-established at Prague. Otakar was a lover of science 
and literature. He was also pre-eminently a builder. 
According to the prevailing tendencies of the time the 
works of Aristotle became the chief classical study of 
the youth of Prague. Like Frederic II. who had re- 
quested the Bolognese literati to make correct trans- 
lations of Aristotle's works, Otakar admired and profit- 
ed by the great Peripatetic's genius. A philosophic 
tone of lofty and sagacious perspicacity and much Icg- 
ical acumen is diffused through all of Otakar's corre- 
spondence. Like Frederic also Otakar experienced the 
results to himself of the acquisition of a tone of states- 
manlike independence and dignity strongly at variance 
with many of the ideas then prevalent. The three- 
fold course at Prague was singularly useful; the 
school trained many distinguished persons; and the 
legislation of the day for home administration reflects 
the broad and humanizing views that have always pre- 
vailed whenever the great Stagyrite's philosophy has 
formed the minds of men. 

Ecclesiastical contentions soon disturbed the peace 
between Bohemia and Bavaria. The appointment of 
Vladislav, chancellor of Bohemia to the archiepisco- 
pal see of Salzburg, and of Peter, his chaplain, to the 
see of Passau renewed the smouldering feud that 
statesmen had endeavored to abate. The territories of 
both were invaded and devastated by Duke Henry. 
Bishop Bruno of Olmutz one of the militant if not 
quarrelsome persons who then perpetually created and 
loved strife, commanded the king's forces toward 



2 so HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the Salzburg district; and each party so successfully 
rivaled the other that the devastation of the country 
reached so complete an annihilation of food that even 
the birds could not procure enough. Bavaria at- 
tempted to aid Conradin by these proceedings: but 
the aggrandisement of that duchy formed no part of 
Bohemian policy. 

Neither Urban IV. nor Clement IV. would consent 
to any support by Bohemia to the house of Hohen 
staufen. The battle of Lewes, May 14, 1264, and the 
imprisonment of Richard, broke up the Bavarian alli- 
ances; but as Richard had constituted Otakar impe- 
rial lieutenant east of the Rhine, Bohemian policy 
avoided Bavarian complications. The death of Conra- 
din and of Frederic of Austria at Naples created a revo- 
lution in public affairs, and Clement IV. issued his 
monitory invitation for another election to the empire. 

The jurisdiction and dignity of the Bohemian crown 
received an important concession soon afterward in 
the devise of the duchy of Carinthia to Otakar and his 
descendants in perpetuity by Ulrich the reigning duke. 
The motives for this important step were the decease 
of Ulrich's children, and the wish to avoid civil war 
among the partizans of various aspirants. Otakar 
was a near relative and held in his hands the power 
to maintain order. Philip the titular archbishop was 
conciliated by promotion to the patriarchate of Aqui- 
leia chiefly through Otakar's influence. Konrad, lieu- 
tenant governor of Briinn, occupied Carinthia, Istria 
and a portion of Friulia without opposition, after the 
decease of Ulrich during the same year, 1269. 

Throughout all the campaigns and negotiations that 
produced these splendid results and placed Bohe- 
mia on an eminence of power and prosperity then 



OTAKAR II 251 

unrivaled in Europe, Otakar was tlie especial friend 
and favorite of the papal see. The delicate manage- 
ment of his divorce and re-marriage exhibited the full 
exercise of the pope's plenary jurisdiction in marital 
affairs. During the ten years that elapsed after Ota- 
kar' s second marriage the correspondence extant be- 
tween himself and the papal court teems with profuse 
expressions of good will and cordiality.* Otakar him- 
self seems to have been dazzled by the light of com- 
plaisant flattery shed over him; and he placed his 
hopes more on the moral and material aid that the 
pope, as he believed, could, and as he expected would 
supply than on any other influence or power. From 
the protestations of friendship made, he was justified 
in this confidence. It is probable also that at the time 
these professions were sincere; but that sincerity was 
of a description, destitute of every principle but 
expediency Otakar was fatally entangled by its bland- 
ishments, and he did not discover the hollowness of 
the flatteries addressed to him until he was fatally 
ensnared and abandoned, 

Philip of Carinthia, although occupying a high ec- 

* Thus June 3d 1262, Pope Urban wrote: "We render due praise 
to the heavenly King, through whom you control the reins of your 
kingdom that we have in you a son so dear, so dignified, and so devo- 
ted, distinguished in probity and goodness, and excelling in the grace 
of many virtues. Wherefore we are inclined to your person with 
abundant affection of mind, ever reflecting, and debating in our in- 
most heart, what thanks, and favor we can expend on a son so exalted, and 
with what honors we can distinguish his lofty station." Again June 
4, 1264; "We render praise and thanks to God that as the proclama- 
tion of your fame is openly declared, you as a faithful athlete of 
Christ promptly propose to extend the worship of the name of Christ 
among such barbarous nations. Wherefore we write to ynu with con- 
fidence as to a catholic and most devoted prince, on those things 
especially that are recognized as touching the spread of the orthodox 
faith." Sept. 30, 1267, Clemer t IV , wrote: "The long proved devo- 
tion of your excellency which you bear to the Roman chur"h. and dis- 
play to ecclesiastical persons in their necessities, has by this recent 
proof shone more clearly." 



252 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

clesiastical position, — that of patriarch of Aqueleia, 
possessed neither the taste nor the persistenc}'^ of an 
ecclesiastic. He was at heart a military adventurer 
bent on projects for temporal advancement. He 
longed for the place formerly held by his brother; 
and in order to effect his purpose he proceeded to en- 
list partisans even in Otakar's dominions. Philip occu- 
pied his place avowedly for the sake of the emolu- 
ments. Taking advantage of a secret current of ill- 
feeling against Otakar that pervaded a large portion 
of the nobles of Austria, and existed in Bohemia it- 
self in a more latent form, Philip was enabled to 
combine formidable elements in aid of his claims to 
the old dukedom of his family. The thought of con- 
quest of any portion of the states of the empire by a 
prince of an}' other portion was distasteful in the 
extreme to the German princes. This sentiment, 
united with a lurking discontent since King Wenzel's 
time, formed a basis on which any well founded pre- 
tensions could at that time have reared a dangerous 
combination. Many nobles were well affected to- 
ward Philip and especially Konrad, lieutenant gov- 
ernor of Briinn. But the most important member of 
the alliance was King Stephen of Hungar}^ who full}' 
succeeded to his father Bela IV. ,in May 1270, and 
who had many injuries of his own to avenge. A 
domestic revolution in King Stephen's palace sud- 
denly stimulated the ferment; and the animosity be- 
tween the two sovereigns of Hungary and Bohemia 
was still further embittered by the sudden flight of 
King Stephen's sister Anna to Bohemia, carrying with 
her the regalia of Hungary. The possession of the 
sword, crown, sceptre, orb, shield, and robes consti- 
tuting the ancient appurtenances of kingly dignity, 



OTAKAR IT 



253 



may have been thought connected with some mysteri- 
ous idea of luck or fate. They may have been in some 
sense "gods;"* and Otakar may have considered the 
captive divinities a means of obtaining terms from his 
angry and superstitious neighbor. A personal inter- 
view held on an island in the Danube resulted in an 
arrangement, by which peace, at least temporarily, 
was secured, but Philip was not included. Otakar 
at once overran and occupied the province; and 
Philip in humiliation was compelled to accept royal 
bounty in Austria, where some local revenues were 
assigned to him. King Stephen perfidiously endeav- 
ored to seize Otakar's person by posting a strong force 
in an ambuscade, on his return from this expedition. 
The design was revealed, and Otakar led his troops 
by another and a difficult mountain road. But a 
fiercely revengeful determination to punish this palpa- 
ble breach of faith and of the peace was formed ; and 
preparations for war were at once hurried forward in 
every hamlet and house in all the Bohemian domin- 
ions. Silesia. Brandenburg, Thuringia, Meissen re- 
sponded to the call for help; and a strong force of one 
hundred thousand men, amply supplied with munitions 
of war, was speedily set in motion. The marchfield 
again became the objective point; and the strong 
places on the frontier of Hungary in that neighbor- 
hood were speedily reduced; Presburg was made a 
depot of supplies. Posing, Bebersburg and Tirnau 
had fallen; and the Hungarian f«rces and their Cum- 
anian allies had been defeated, though not seriously 
on the Leitha. Altenburg was taken and fortified; and 
Weiselburg razed. Then conditions of peace were pro- 

* See the story of Rachel carrying away Laban's gods as narrated 
in Genesis. 



254 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

posed oa condition of restoratioi of these strongholds. 
The terms were refused, and hostilities were resumed. 
May 21, 1271, Stephen suffered a severe defeat be- 
tween the Leitha and Rabuiz; but scarcity of supplies 
prevented the victors from reaping the full results. 
Otakar was compelled to retreat, and Stephen again 
advanced, in June, against Austria and Moravia where 
his light cavalry committed great devastation. But 
mutual exhaustion compelled relinquishment of hostile 
operations; and a peace was patched up in July follow- 
ing. The frontiers of the two kingdoms were fixed as 
they had been at King Bela's death. Stephen relin- 
quished all pretensions to Stj'ria and Carinthia. The 
disputed regalia were also abandoned. Philip of Car- 
inthia was repudiated by Stephen; and Otakar bound 
himself on the other side to refuse aid and protection 
to the counterpart scapegrace, Stephen, Bela's young- 
est brother. Malcontents who had fled from either 
country to the other were secured in their safety; but 
a condition of mutual extradition of similar offenders 
was accepted on both sides for the future. In this peace 
were also included Otakar's allies the kings of England 
and Spain, Emperor Richard, and all the princes and 
bishops of Germany who had given him moral or mate- 
rial support ; and Stephen's allies, the kings of France 
and Sicily, the emperor of Constantinople, the king 
of Servia, the princes of Kiev and Russia, the dukes of 
Cracow and Great Poland, and Henry, duke of Bava- 
ria. Lastly a couF?r of arbitration was established 
to decide all future subjects of contention. This court 
was two-fold; one division for the more and the 
other for the less serious questions. The archbishop 
of Gran, and the bishop of Olmiitz formed the higher; 
and Henry of Meissen, and Otto of Brandenburg on 



OTAKAR II 255 

one side, and the king of Sicily and the duke of Ba^ 
varia on the other, constituted the lower court. The 
treaty was duly sworn to and witnessed by maay 
princes and dignitaries, and duly referred to the court 
of Rome for confirmation, July 14, 1271. 

In August of this year Otakar was approached by 
some of the imperial electors, especially by Engelbert 
of Cologne, on the subject of permitting his name to 
be mentioned in connection with an election to the 
empire. But fealty to Richard prevented the least 
acquiescence in this proposal; and the archbishop, 
courteously received, was dismissed without accom- 
plishing anything at Prague. Richard died in April 
next year, 1272; and then the expression of a wish 
for the nomination and election of Otakar became le- 
gitimate. The termination of the interregnum in the 
papal see by the selection of Gregory X. placed 
Europe in a better defined position for the election of 
an emperor than was possible while the college of 
cardinals remained without a chief. Gregory was 
chosen during his pilgrimage to the holy places at 
Jerusalem; and his first thought was an appeal for 
men and still more for money in support of a great 
crusade to rescue the sepulchre of Christ and the scenes 
where the christian church had been born, and had re- 
ceived its first nurture, the home of its maternity. But 
the election of an emperor was imperative. At first 
the choice of Otakar seems to have been sincere. 
Gregory's course was absolutely non-committal. If 
Otakar should be elected he had a good friend, already 
proved and attached; and no objection was made to 
the mention of his name. The feeling of the German 
electors was decidedly in favor of the election of a 
person strong in reputation and individual character, 



256 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

but weak in territorial resources. Bat Otakar hes- 
itated probabl)' too long. Had his council seconded 
the king's inclination a sufficient number of electors 
was almost certain at the outset. Delay allowed an- 
tagonisms to develop. The counsel given to Otakat 
on the occasion of the archbishop's visit created the 
first obstacle. When the king assembled his advisers 
and formally required their opinions on the subject of 
the prelate's visit, some members were in favor of an 
acceptance. Others opposed it, and among them was 
Andrew of Rican, territorial chamberlain. His utter- 
ance on that occasion is alleged to have been; "Most 
invincible and illustrious King! There is no prince 
upon the whole earth that can compare with thee in 
power and majesty. As God rules over the heavens, 
so rulest thou by thy supreme control over the dukes 
and princes of the earth. None is there among them 
who dare venture to resist thy will. The populations 
whose government they invite thee to assume are not 
sufficiently known to thee; whether the assumption 
of the imperial crown would conduce to thy best in- 
terests is undetermined and unknown. Sit on the 
throne of thy fathers. The renown of thy government 
and thy might has alread}^ spread 'to the utmost limit 
of the earth. The report of thy great name has al- 
ready reached the shore of the great sea, and all 
princes of the earth serve thee and are obedient to 
thy nod. The kaisar himself will receive orders from 
thee, and must hasten to thy aid, with shield and 
shelter, as often as thou shalt find it necessary." If 
the gentleman who was guilty of this fulsome pane- 
gyric had gone abroad for news of home as wise men 
do, the master whom he wished to serve might have 
sat on the throne of his fathers during a long life; 



OTAKAR II 257 

and his majesty might not have been any the less re- 
splendent by uniting the will of the kaisar to his own 
in his proper person. In Otakar's case delay was fa- 
tal. His actual position was one of almost pronoun- 
ced hostility to the condition of the empire as it had 
been on the southeastern frontier. Any other emperor 
than himself must receive forcible demands for a re- 
distribution of provinces and titles. Clearly the ex- 
pectation was that the aid of Bohemia must be in- 
voked as on former occasions, with probabl}^ an exten- 
sion of power and privileges as in 1212, in recompense 
for still greater services. 

During these debates and unofficial negotiations re- 
newed complications with Hungary embarrassed Ota- 
kar for a time. King Stephen died of fever in 1272, 
and was succeeded by his minor son Ladislav, sur- 
named the Cumanian, under the regency of his mother. 
As usual in such cases the strong counsellor of the 
late king, ^gidius of Presburg, was hated by the 
queen regent; and on the death of the sovereign was 
deprived at once of office and estates and compelled 
to flee from the country. He took refuge with Otakar, 
delivered Presburg the most important fortress on that 
side to his new protector, and was received with marked 
favor. Henry of Giissing, a Bohemian subject an old 
enemy of ^Egidius, obtained means stealthily, to se- 
cure possession of Presburg, and enabled the Hun- 
garians again to enter and occupy the place. The 
murder of prince Bela, brother of the Bohemian queen 
Kunigunde ; and the audacious transmission of his re- 
mains, cut piecemeal to that princess by the same 
Henry of Giissing forthwith rendered the recent ar- 
bitration project utterly nugatory. Austria, Styria 
and Moravia were again ravaged by the light Hun- 



258 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

garian horse, and Carinthia was invaded and threat- 
ened with ruin. Reprisals speedily followed and the 
frontiers of Hungary were again wasted, February 
1273, Otakar took the field in person and pursued 
his enemy to the March and the Carpathians, The 
Hungarians avoided a pitched battle. In August 
the Danube was passed on a wooden bridge construc- 
ted for the fourth time, and then justly regarded as an 
extraordinary performance. Mutual exhaustion again 
left the contestants in a condition of dissatisfied rage 
and animosity. In another direction the completion 
of Otakar's security appeared to have been effected 
in the early months of 1273 by a treat}^ with Henry 
of Bavaria, whereby the most friendly and confidential 
relations were established. The frontiers of their re- 
spective territories were accurately defined; the pos- 
sessions of each prince in towns, fortresses, and 
even hamlets were ascertained and agreed on, and a 
court of arbitration with six members and a president 
was e'stablished to adjust all future differences. Ota- 
kar and Henry solemnly swore to aid each other to 
observe this treaty in all its stipulations with preci- 
sion; and their course of conduct in reference to the 
impending election was also formally determined. 
Louis, Count Palatine, was also included within the 
engagements of this treaty. 

During the spring and summer of this year — 1273, 
the most prominent candidates for the imperial throne 
were Louis the Strong, Count Palatine of the Rhine, 
Rudolph of Habsburg in the Swiss Canton of Aargau, 
Siegfried of Anhalt, and Otakar of Bohemia, the last 
not so openly as the others, but still generally named. 
Otakar felt a far deeper interest than he expressed, 
as he had most to gain or to lose. The wishes of the 



OTAKAR n 259 

German princes were described by the bishop of 01- 
raiitz in a letter evidently written in Otakar's interest. 
"They wish," he said to Pope Gregory, "to obtain 
through the grace of the Holy Ghost a gracious empe- 
ror, and through the wisdom of the Son of God a wise 
emperor; but they ignore the first person in the Trin- 
ity and power is their abhorrence." The springs that 
moved electoral counsels were touched with a more 
resolute and skilful hand by Frederic of Hohenzollern, 
burg-graf of Nuremberg than by any other statesman of 
his time. He was, moreover, a nephew of Rudolph; 
and family enrichment was the fundamental public 
law. The spiritual electors had combined with Fred 
eric in an agreement that when three of them should 
unite on a choice the fourth should accept their deci- 
sion. In this way the election rested with the spirit- 
ual electors exclusively, and if they agreed on a can- 
didate they could make terms with him before an- 
nouncing their decision. Also they could propose 
terms to all candidates, and accept the most complai- 
sant. That Rudolph's sentiments were known before 
his election may be inferred from his subsequent con- 
duct. They were precisely such as the "ecclesiastical 
supremacy" of the age demanded; and fitted the re- 
quirements of the papal see as accurately as if the 
measure of those requirements had been taken, and 
the sentiments manufactured to correspond. An adapt- 
ation so perfect could not have resulted without pre- 
vious examination and adjustment. The sentiments 
of Rudolph's descendants have been manufactured on 
the same model; and have given proof of an equally 
careful adjustment from that day to the present. On 
the 2gth of September, 1273, the election was per- 
fected at Frankfort on the Main, and Rudolph of Habs- 
burg became emperor. 



26o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Otakar's feelings somewhat mastered his judgment 
after the election was pronounced : and with an im- 
politic precipitation he recorded a formal protest a- 
gainst the election through his proctor, Bishop Ber- 
thold of Bamberg. This complete departure from the 
congratulations and courtesies of the hour, amounted 
substantially to a declaration of war. It announced 
the hostility of the king of Bohemia to the existing 
constitution of the empire; and as that constitution 
was the acknowledged law of the land, Otakar's pro- 
test was unwise and untimely. In some of his dignities 
and rights Otakar was without the empire; in others 
he was within it. His hereditary possessions he held 
as the elect sovereign of Bohemia by a right more 
ancient than the empire itself. The objection to Ota- 
kar that he was a Slavonian prince, placed him in a 
unique position. But he had fully accepted the po- 
sition of a prince elector; and while his technical 
right to protest was not to be questioned, yet his use 
of it was a departure from his accustomed statesman- 
ship. Another protest was recorded by Alphonso of 
Castile; and as that prince was known to be learned 
but not wise this second protest detracted somewhat 
from the weight that migh-t have heen given to the 
first. TJie two dissentients appealed to the pbpe and a 
general council. 

These complications afforded unconcealed satisfac- 
tion to Otakar's enemies, and they were many in Bo- 
hemia and elsewhere. A large faction of malcontents 
existed in his domestic territories; and his rivals were 
made perfectly aware of their presence and their dis- 
content. 

Respectable writers affirm that Rudolph had allowed 
his sentiments to transpire on several occasions; and 



OTAKAR 11 261 

that he openly proposed as the conditions of his elec- 
tion that he would do precisely what he did after he 
was chosen. It is also declared on equally respectable 
authority that the Roman see had become jealous of 
Otakar's power and that his destruction was resolved 
on and required of Rudolph; and that this condition 
also was accepted on that side. The intrigues, of pope 
Gregory were too clearly portions of a deeply medi- 
tated policy to be suggested by the results of an un- 
foreseen choice by the electors. That Otakar's power 
was the real motive of the hostility to him is manifest 
from the fact that the German princes were all con- 
firmed in the posssesion of territor}^ belonging to the 
empire, and of the hereditary lands of the Hohenstau- 
fen which had been violently seized. When Rudolph 
himself became powerful territorially by the marriage 
alliances of bis daughters he was at once marked for 
hostility by Popes Nicholas III. and Martin IV. 
and escaped only by almost abject concessions. Th-e 
king exerted himself with an eagerness that betrayed 
his anxiety; and with a profuseness of cordiality that 
deepened the shade of his former severe independence. 
Philip of Carinthia was constituted governor of that 
province, a concession as futile as the necessity for 
it was now obvious. Through all the provinces of 
his dominion Otakar's activity was manifest. Promises, 
rewards, dignities were distributed; threats, severity, 
punishments were employed. From the undisputed 
ruler of kingdoms he became a candidate for public 
favor and his motives were perfectly understood. On 
the other hand Rudolph's agents were equally active; 
and a correspondence was maintained with the dis- 
affected in every province and in every cit}'. Otakar's 
chief dependence was on the pope. Gregorj^ deferred 



262 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

all recognition of Rudolph for a full year. During 
that period the court of Rome became fully informed 
of the political purposes of tlie emperor elect. The 
interval was well spent, and the assurances must have 
been perfectly satisfactory. Rudolph in fact re- 
nounced the claims of his predecessors over a large 
part o! the empire, especially the territories of Bo- 
logna, Ravenna, Imola, Rimini, Urbino, Ancona, Sic- 
ily, Apulia, and in fact all the dignities and territo- 
ries hitherto claimed by the popes in opposition to 
the. emperors. Tlie Roman empire terminated; and 
Rudolph was allowed to retain only a remnant of im- 
perial authority north of the Alps. Rudolph became 
solely a potentate over a German kingdom where sub- 
ordinate electors would form his sole opponents, and 
the details of marriage contracts for his daughters 
would constitute a large portion of the political com 
binations to be made. 

Rudolph was now in his fifty fifth year. He was 
conspicuous by his tall angular figure, and especially 
a large, hocked nose. He was simple, pious, and 
considerate. The electors anticipated, or perhaps 
suggested the maxim of Napoleon I. — "Give me a 
man with plenty of nose." He was recommended to 
the bachelor princes by a wealth of daughters, one of 
whom his shrewd nephew of Nuremberg contrived to 
promise to each. When Rudolph was crowned at Aix 
the ceremony of investiture was threatened with a 
rude reverse from the fact that the scepter could not 
be found. By the touch of this imperial wand tenures 
and allegiance were renewed. But the good humored 
presence of mind of the emperor was equal to the oc- 
casion. Seizing a crucifix he exclaimed "Lo! The 
symbol of our redemption. It secures us heaven; 



OTAKAR II 263 

surely it is good enough to confirm to us our parcels 
of earth." He found the empire in confusion; five 
shillings of bad money in the treasury; and what 
seemed a formidable rebellion on his hands. He began 
his reign with an imperial visit; but did not proceed 
further than the Rhine and South Germany. 

On the gth of April, 1274, Rudolph conferred on his 
chancellor Otto of Spires, full authority for him and 
in his name to promise and to do not only what his 
predecessors had performed, but whatever the holy 
father might consider advantageous for God and the 
right except the dismemberment of Germany. On the 
6th of June following Rudolph formally confirmed the 
donations made to the papal see by his predecessors, 
and especially those made by Otto IV. and Frederic 
11. and on this occasion renounced all claim to the 
possessions in Italy. Having obtained everything ex- 
cept the shadow of imperial authority Gregory con- 
sented to recognize Rudolph, and in September follow- 
ing the election was finally consummated. From that 
moment the relations between Gregory and Otakar 
were completely inverted and reversed without notice 
and without explanation. Otakar was repudiated and 
betrayed. 

During the sessions of the second council of Lyons 
Gregory forwarded a verbal message to Otakar by the 
bishop of Olmiitz, who now began to exhibit the ter- 
giversation that he subsequently extended to open 
treason, advising him that as he had entrusted his in- 
terests and those of his kingdom to the apostolic 
chair, he would do well to accept the counsel to be 
stated by the bishop; and at the same time wrote 
himself to the king reviewing the general condition 
of the empire and of Christendom , and urging him un- 



264 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

reservedly and unconditionally to comply with the 
bishop's advice. Gregory did not venture to put on 
paper the only terms that Otakar could expect in his 
dispute with Rudolph. Those terms were already 
known; and the great probability is that the severance 
of the provinces, Styria, Istria, Carinthia from the 
Bohemian crown constituted the counterpoise offered 
to Rudolph for the loss of the Italian dominions. Such 
was the result practically to Otakar of his having "en- 
trusted his interests and those of his kingdom to the 
apostolic chair." The harshness of the order to surren- 
der the provinces whose acquisition by Bohemia had 
been expressly encouraged, promoted, and sanctioned by 
the same papal chair so long as that policy seemed 
expedient, was but thinly disguised in the general ad- 
vice presented. The suggestion of this alternative 
formed proof positive of the conditions already agreed 
on with Rudolph. These terms existed in the pope's 
mind; and the advice respecting them had been the 
subject of debate and of negotiation. The pope's own 
plans were to be forwarded by the plunder of Bohe- 
mia. Otakar was in fact told plainly that the pope 
had no further occasion to employ flatteries or com- 
pliments; that a strong Bohemian kingdom was not 
now the policy of the Roman see; and that acquisi- 
tions from Germany must be paid for by Bohemia. 
A more compliant and convenient servant had now 
been hired; and the support hitherto afforded to Ota- 
kar had been only a convenient instrumentality to 
amuse him until another could be found still more 
subservient. The "dear, dutiful, and devoted son," 
the "catholic and most devoted prince," the "excel- 
lency of whose zeal had been proved," for whom 
thanks to God had been offered, and especial favors 



OTAKAR II 265 

were anxiously studied and preserved, was frowned on 
and deserted in an instant when the callous calcula- 
tions of Rome had discovered another more dear, 
dutiful and devoted son who was likely to be still 
more useful. Flatteries for this world, and promises 
for the next which cost nothing, and whose realiza- 
tion or otherwise no man can prove, were, and still 
are, though not in such large measure, the potent 
levers by which multitudes are moved after having 
been long prepared for the application of them. 
Otakar's eyes had been blinded by the glittering com- 
pliments addressed to him. His eyesight returned 
later when the deep shadow fell upon him; but he 
still clung with tenacity to the policy of conciliating 
iavor with Rome by offers that demonstrated the depth 
of his manly confidence, as well as of the duplicity 
that had ensnared him. 

The king of Bohemia cannot be censured because 
he failed to perceive the profundity of craft that dic- 
tated the later crusades. He endeavored to conciliate 
Gregory by a promise to undertake the burden of the 
new expedition against the Saracens, which must be 
the surest and most dreadful means of impoverishing 
his kingdom, destroying his most useful and valiant 
followers, and of forwarding the actual purposes of 
Rome to erect a new empire in Germany in part on 
the ruins of Otakar's dominions. A resolution of the 
council of Lyons had required all feuds and contentions 
to be abandoned for six years, and collections to be 
made in all countries for the holy land. Otakar was 
serious and ingenuous; and his proposition took offi- 
cial form, to undertake the crusade at the conclusion 
of four years, if in the meantime his present adversary 
Rudolph should be restrained from molesting his do- 



266 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

minions. He also requested that the proceeds of the 
collection in Bohemia and Poland should be paid 
into his exchequer to enable him to complete his 
equipment. This expedient to gain time was a dreadful 
alternative. Gregory lauded the king's zeal and de- 
votion; but no injunction whatever was issued or 
even mentioned by the pope to interfere with Ru- 
dolph's perfectly free action. Promises of renown 
were showered on Otakar; but hard necessity com- 
pelled a descent to harder facts within the limits of 
the king's observation. He began to perceive that 
he was trilled with. Bishop Bruno of Olmiitz was 
again appointed peacemaker between the angry princes; 
but the nomination was only another form of empti- 
ness. 

During these negotiations Rudolph continued to 
strengthen his position by a policy of the most prac- 
tical character. Philip of Carinthia openly abandoned 
Otakar' s allegiance, fled to Rudolph, and received 
from his hands an investiture of the same fief that he 
had governed as Otakar's lieutenant up to that mo 
ment. Some Bohemian and Hungarian nobles of in- 
fluence also openly declared for Rudolph. The time 
seemed to have arrived when every man who had a 
private grievance felt he could obtain at least revenge 
against the law and discipline that hitherto restrained 
him. The archbishop of Salzburg and the bishops 
of Passau and Raitsbon accepted their temporalities 
from Rudolph wlio at the same time published a de- 
claration that he would restore to the rightful authori- 
ties all the territories that had been seized by Otakar 
in Austria, Styria and Carinthia; and he invited all 
princes, nobles, knights and cities to confer with him 
on that subject. Rudolph some time later published 



OTAKAR II 267 

another announcement to the effect that all persons 
who should renounce Otakar should be reimbursed for 
all they should suffer on that account, and not be 
held responsible for injuries committed against him. 
Practically the king of Bohemia was declared an out- 
law; and every man was authorized to assail him and 
his territories with impunity. Rudolph's first reich- 
stag was held at Nuremberg in November, 1274. At 
this assembly the following resolutions were adopted; 
(I.) That the emperor should resume possession of 
all property that had reverted since Frederic II. 's ex- 
communication. (II.) That every vassal of the empire 
should claim his fief within a year and a day, or for- 
feit the same. (III.) That the Count Palatine should 
be judge in all disputed questions between the empire 
and an elector. (IV.) That as the king of Bohemia 
had neither claimed nor received investiture within 
a year and a day from the emperor's coronation, Count 
Palatine, Louis, should summon him to appear before 
his court on the 23rd day of January following, and 
that publication of that citation in the cities of the 
upper palatinate nearest to the Bohemian frontier 
should suffice. Similar proceedings seem to have been 
adopted toward the recalcitrant Henry of Bavaria 
also. 

Very earnest remonstrances against these proceed- 
ings were dispatched to Rome by Otakar; but they fell 
on deaf ears. The "dear devoted son" became at once 
an unreclaimed prodigal although he had never aban- 
doned the ancestral homestead, but had been always 
most dutiful and punctilious. Rudolph on the other 
hand was permitted to decline all interposition on the 
part of Gregory in these imperial concerns; and Ota- 
kar was coldly recommended to conclude peace with 



268 HIS TOR Y OF B HE Ml A 

his opponent. In other words the great comedy that 
had been performed in Austria, and the smaller com- 
edies that had been acted in other provinces, and had 
received smiles of approval at the time, were now to- 
tally repudiated as occurrences to be ashamed of. The 
following year Rudolph and Gregory established a 
perfect understanding in an interview at Lausanne. 
The pontiff conducted an active and earnest correspond- 
ence in Rudolph's interest with the kings of France, 
Sicily, and Castile; supplied him liberally with money 
and troops ; and furnished valuable information respect- 
ing the attitude of Otakar's adherents in north Italy. 
At length in Ma}', 1275, the pope threw off the mask 
he had pretended to wear, and distinctly announced 
to his dupe that he could not, and he would not, 
change the condition of public affairs, nor impede Ru- 
dolph in any proceedings he might decide to take re- 
specting the interests of the empire. The sting of 
this plain avowal consisted in the time it was made. 
The pope had decided on his course; but he would 
not declare his intentions until Rudolpli had been 
placed in full strength, and Otakar had been allowed 
to deceive himself with hopes of support which an 
earlier declaration of Gregory's must have replaced 
by vigorous preparations. Otakar's indignation at this 
undisguised revelation of Gregory's duplicity was very 
great. He appealed at once to a general council and 
broke off all intercourse with Rome. 

The next reichstag was convened at Augsburg in 
May of this year. Otakar and Henr)' were represented, 
the former by the bishop of Seckati as proctor. The 
prelate delivered a Latin oration which probably few 
of the assembly understood. He questioned the reg- 
ularity of Rudolph's election; and the justice of the 



OTAKAR II 269 

proceedings against the king of Bohemia; but did not 
discuss the vital point of the legal right of Otakar to 
the disputed duchies. The imperial ban was pro- 
nounced against both princes, and the might of the 
empire was invoked for the execution of it. Due and 
formal announcement was made to Otakar of this sen- 
tence by his chief enemy Frederic of Nuremberg as 
imperial herald; and the final act of the great drama 
was now ready for presentation. All the great pre- 
lates formally announced their adhesion to Ru- 
dolph, except Olmiitz, and he would have been as 
useful and less mischievous in his oratory. The arch- 
bishop of Salzburg rendered himself especially con- 
spicuous in intrigues, and drew down on his estates 
the opening hostilities of the war. He loudly com- 
plained of the devastation committed, as if he could 
expect complete immunity from men whose lives and 
fortunes he was activeh^ exerting himself to destroy. 
Hungary had old resentments, and hastened now to 
satiate her thirst for retaliation. A strong party in 
Austria itself raised the standard of revolt, and al- 
though humbled for the present disembled their re- 
sentment until a more favorable opportunity^ Bohe- 
mia itself was not united; and many of the most in- 
fluential nobles marshalled their retainers under Ota- 
kar's banner only until the fortune of war should de- 
clare itself. Otakar was literally without allies, even 
Henry of Meissen and Otto of Brandenburg keeping 
aloof from him. Henry of Bavaria was not so much 
an ally as a confederate; and Otakar' s confidence in 
this quarter was misplaced. 

All the princes of Styria and Carinthia had com- 
bined in favor of Rudolph on political grounds, and 
rendered his success already accomplished on that 



270 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

side. Otakar's line of defense had been planned in 
reliance on the fidelity of Bavaria. Rudolph's ad- 
vance against Bohemia was directed from almost every 
available quarter. Ladislav of Hungary undertook 
an invasion of Moravia with his numerous and active 
cavalry. Rudolph himself directed his march by Nur- 
emberg and Eger toward Prague. Meinhard of Tyrol 
invaded Styria and Carinthia. Prince Albrecht and 
the archbishop of Salzburg assailed upper Austria. 
At the fatal moment when the formation of Otakar's 
line depended on an accurate knowledge of the location 
of his enemies, Henry of Bavaria declared for Rudolph 
and all the Bohemian positions were at once rendered 
unavailing. Rudolph changed his line of advance to 
upper Austria, and Otakar was compelled to make a 
rapid and laborious march, and take a new position 
under the most dangerous conditions. He was neces- 
sitated to establish himself in the mountainous forest 
district on the Austrian frontier where munitions and 
supplies were procurable only with the greatest diffi- 
culty. The theatre of war was transferred to Austria 
where the population was hostile, and where only Vien- 
na and Klosterneuberg held out for Bohemia. The 
Viennese were true to their fealty in remembrance 
of the especial favors and privileges conferred on them 
by Otakar, and the hopes of the king now centered on 
their fidelity. \i these two fortresses or either of them 
should be reduced the issue of the struggle could not 
be doubtful. One division of the Bohemian troops 
was commanded b}^ bishop Bruno of Olmiitz. During 
a movement made for the passage of the Danube the 
bishop blundered or was treacherous, and Klosternm- 
berg fell into the hands of the imperialists. The loss 
of this important place was fatal. The disaffected 



OTAKAR II 271 

nobles drew off their regiments, until the king was 
left with a mere remnant. The war was ended. A 
truce was asked for and granted; and the conduct of 
the capitulation was again entrusted to Bishop Bruno. 
In November 1276 all the provinces gained by waste 
of war and treasure, by treaties and marriage alliances, 
by political sagacity and combination, and by the 
approvals, dispensations, assents and consents of popes 
were reft from Bohemia in an instant. Otakar's 
fatal mistake consisted in his abandonment of the 
strength of his ancestors— the fidelity of the Bohe- 
mians to their own land and its institutions, and a 
substitution therefor of a dependence on an alien 
whose interests were external to Bohemia, and must 
be controlled by the outside policies expedient from 
time to time. In the present instance these external 
policies prevailed, as they must prevail at times 
against every country individually; and the peace and 
prosperity of every nation must thus .depend on the 
temporary advantage of a power external to them all, 
as his momentary interests may suggest. On this prin- 
ciple precisely Rome has always intrigued with every 
country against every other, and has never scrupled 
to sacrifice each for its own benefit. Rome has ever 
done this in the name of that one Lord over all nations 
alike. Such was mediaeval piet}'; and it is not wholly 
obsolete yet. 

By the terms of the compact now concluded (I.) The 
ban of the empire was withdrawn. (II-) Peace and 
friendship were restored between the emperor and the 
king of Bohemia, their servants and subjects and all 
property was restored. (HI.) Otakar renounced all 
claims and pretensions to Austria, Styria, Carinthia, 
Carniola, the Wendish March, Eger and Portenau, and 



272 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

to all territories and possessions in these provinces. 
(IV.) Hostages and prisoners on both sides were liber- 
ated, (V.) The king of Bohemia was confirmed in his 
fiefs of Bohemia and Moravia for himself and his de- 
scendants as he had inherited them. (VI.) A marriage 
alliance was agreed on between Otakar's daughter and 
Rudolph's son; and all fiefs and possessions which 
Otakar had acquired as private property in Austria 
should form the dower of the princess. (VII.) Another 
marriage alliance was concluded between Otakar's 
son and Rudolph's daughter, and the bride in this in- 
stance shoidd receive a dower of territories in northern 
Austria which should be held in pledge by Bohemia 
for the payment of forty thousand marks, and Vienna 
was confirmed in all its municipal privileges; and the 
ban removed from her gallant burgomaster. (VIII.) 
The king of Hungary was included; and his territories 
were augmented by a restoration of the Bohemian 
conquests.* 

From Otakar's subsequent personal correspondence 
with Rudolph the two sovereigns held an interview 
near the Danube — probably on the island of Camberg 
as some of the old chroniclers affirm. Meetings of 
this description are recorded in Otakar's previous ex- 
perience, and were a remnant of ancient barbaric cus- 
tom probably to avoid treachery ; and to preserve 
secrecy in the conversation. The same custom was 
observed by Napoleon on a memorable occasion. In 
this latter instance a dash of romantic ostentation, a 
large ingredient in Napoleon's character, may well be 

* From the conditions of this treaty it will be seen that Bohemia 
was withdrawn from her sea board frontier, which she had enjoyed 
practically since 1262, and geographically since the acquisition of Car- 
inthia. It was this precise period, when commerce between Sicily and 
Bohemia was common, that is referred to by Shakespeare in the 
"Winters Tale." 



OTAKAR II 273 

believed to have suggested a revival of the antiquated 
procedure.* It must have been at this meeting if ever 
that Rudolph adopted the characteristic method of 
revenge on his antagonist that is recorded of him. 
The emperor was clad in his usual gray garments and 
seated on a three-legged stool, probably the ordinary 
camp stool of the period. "The king of Bohemia has 
often mocked at my gray coat," he jocularly remarked, 
"and now my gray coat shall mock him." That the 
king of Bohemia exhibited the same manly resigna- 
tion which distinguished all his conduct during these 
depressing occurrences cannot be doubted. Otakarw^s 
pre-eminently a soldier, a gentleman, and a practical 
philosopher, and maintained his dignity to the termi- 
nation of his career. 

The adverse fortunes of this campaign also unfavor- 
abl}' influenced Bohemian commercial interests in 
Venice. During the following year, 1277, the em- 
bassy dispatched by the Venetians to Rudolph under 
Marino Pasqualigo changed the relations of the repub- 
lic with Bohemia. Neither Hungary nor Carinthia 
obtained the commercial advantages the}^ expected. 
The tOLite of traffic became diverted to the Tyrol ; 
and from that date the provinces wrested from Bohe- 
mia rapidly declined. At present while Trieste is an 
active port the eastern Adriatic coast is little but a 
bleaching skeleton. 

The decision of war, and the double treachery of 
professed friends having acquired the mastery, Ota- 
kar at once prepared to fulfil the terms of the recent 
convention. Hitherto Rudolph could shelter himself 
with strong reason behind the preservation and unity 

* A locality of that kind would probably at the present day be 
selected to escape from reporters. 



274 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA ^ 

of the empire. But henceforward his proceedings 
were marked by a denial of justice; and placed Ota- 
kar legally and technically in the right. On the 26th 
of November Otakar appeared with a brilliant retinue 
at Rudolph's camp before Vienna to do homage and 
receive investiture. This ceremony appears to have 
been interpreted as revolutionizing the tenure by which 
the king of Bohemia held the territories now remain- 
ing to him. The emperor acted subsequently on the 
theory that no difference whatever existed betwen 
Otakar's position and that of any other elector. All 
previous relations to the empire were regarded as ob- 
literated, and a new and completely dependent rela- 
tion established. Otakar viewed these occurrences as 
merely depriving him of the German duchies, leaving 
all his previous rights and dignities as King of Bohe- 
mia in their original operation, Rudolph regarded 
the homage and investiture as conferring a fief of the 
imperial crown. Bohemia was now looked on as a 
grant and not an inheritence. Otakar held that his ter- 
ritories were his own by inalienable right; and that 
he was protected in them both by right of property, 
of possession, of hereditary jurisdiction, of the elective 
will of his people, and of the treaties solemnl}' es- 
tablished between his ancestors and the empire. The 
institutional system and principle prevailing in Bo- 
hemia was obviously distasteful, if not antagonistic to 
the fundamental feudalism of the empire, and especially 
to the inordinately rapacious aspirations of the new 
Habsburg dynasty, that regarded provinces as marriage 
portions, and the territories of Germany as the spoil 
of needy sons and nephews. The principle of popular 
elections had become profoundly distasteful at Rome ; 
the proximity of Bohemia to Russian and Greek in- 



OTAKAR II 275 

fluences, the large element of Greek sympathy and phi- 
losophy prevailing in Bohemia, the perilous combina- 
tion of nobles and people sternly tenacious of local 
rights, rendered the abrogation of ancient Bohemian 
customs and institutions a chief element in imperial 
Roman policy henceforth. 

Otakar's manly dignity is reflected conspicuously 
in the following letter to his queen written under the 
depressing circumstances just narrated : 

"To my beloved consort, the queen of Bchemia, 
health and intrepidity in misfortune! Since it has 
happened to us, perhaps to a merited degree, that we 
should lose the lands that were acquired with so much 
labor and bloodshed, it becomes us not to lament 
with mourning and effeminate tears, but to endure the 
disastrous event with serenity, so that kingly dignity 
may not appear to stoop beneath adversity, or expose 
a weakness to the malice of our enemies. Calmness 
and magnanimity, those supports of a throne, should 
never abandon us. Those persons greatly deceive 
themselves who expect to mitigate misadventure by 
complaining. The wise will defy adversity and cour- 
ageously confront it." 

This letter is replete with the courage and humanity 
of Greek thought and philosophy. 

The terms stipulated in the recent compact affected 
the empire almost exclusively; the local interests of 
the discomfited monarch were not provided for. Many 
details respecting the claims of jurisdiction over cities 
and villages were unadjusted. Disorders committed 
by the imperial allies in Bohemia and Moravia were 
unpunished. The retreating regiments — or rather dis- 
orderly troops — for regiments were not yet, plundered 
the country even after the treaty was completed; the 



276 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

privileges conferred on Otakar's friends in various 
places were disregarded, and the ancient jurisdiction 
of the Bohemian crown was violated in mockery of the 
Bohemian claims of independence. Negotiations nec- 
essarily were renewed for the adjustment of these 
difficulties; and in May, 1277, a new compact was con- 
cluded. In these arrangements marriage contracts 
formed so important an element that the subject mus': 
have been profoundly studied in Rudolph's Swiss cha- 
teau. 

More serious questions still remained unsettled. By 
the grateful concessions made and privileges conferred 
in 1212 the entire contributions exacted of Bohemia 
were limited to three hundred marks of silver or three 
hundred men for an expedition to Rome if any should 
be ordered ; and an attendance at court at Nuremberg, 
Bamberg, or Merseburg hut not elsewhere. These 
distinctions were now held by Rudolph to be abrogated ; 
and the same duties of every nature were required 
from Otakar as from every other elector. These con- 
ditions were proposed in another coriipact which the 
prince Albrecht was commissioned to have formally 
concluded at Prague in September, 1277. Rudolph 
also attempted to establish an independent protectorate 
over the dissatisfied nobles of Bohemia while nomin- 
ally Otakar's subjects; but he disguised his intentions 
by proposing a court of arbitration for future difficul- 
ties, to consist of twenty four of the chief nobility of 
each country. By this last proposition an indirect 
violation of existing stipulations was artfully suggest- 
ed. It was already provided that neither party should 
shelter malcontent subjects of the other; but by the 
stipulation now proposed the question whether this 
protection should be extended or not was left to the 



OTAKAR II 277 

new tribunal to decide. Thus an intermediate juris- 
diction between Otakar and his subjects was at once 
established. 

These conditions seemed subversive of existing 
relations; but to avoid further contention, and if pos- 
sible to gain the good will of the emperor by plain 
expression of views Otakar wrote to him in October 
following. In this frank communication he said: "I 
have determined to write to your highness respecting 
the Vrkovici and others of our subjects in Bohemia. 
That these our subjects were included in the treaty 
established between us, and especially in the agreement 
concluded on the Danube has never come to my knowl- 
edge. The treaty which was confirmed by the princes I 
have carefully maintained and will maintain so long 
as I live, although it has not in all points been ob- 
served with me. More recently when I dispatched the 
bishop of Olmiitz, Baron Emil of Bielkovi, and my 
secretary Ulrich to your majesty for the confirmation 
of the treat}', it never occurred to me that any one of 
the natives of my country, especially of those who 
owed service and fealty to me, and whose forefathers 
had been exclusively the subjects of my ancestors, 
should be included in our agreement on any pretext 
whatever; and if any one of the negotiators has done 
so he has exceeded the limits of his authority. I had, 
however, been willing that every native subject of my 
country who had behaved dishonorably to me, out of 
kingly grace should continue in peace and unmolested 
until the confirmation of some articles of agreement 
pending between you and me. That all this is true 
can be understood from the following. When the 
noble burg-graf of Nuremberg was present with me 
at Troppau, I consented to all the proposals which I 



2 78 HIS TOR Y OF B OB EMI A 

had presented to your highness through him not in- 
fringing on imperial rights, especially that one— that 
none of my subjects should abridge my authority, and 
my inheritance, or be placed in any manner beneath 
foreign jurisdiction. On a still more recent occasion 
when the same burg-graf and the noble Count von 
Fiirstenberg came to me to Prague I maintained the 
seme determination, that I confirmed under oath all 
the points of the compact of friendship that had been 
concluded between us with the express exception that 
my subjects and the rights of my country should be 
mine wholly and without diminution. I also declared 
that out of regard for you and at your particular re- 
quest, all those who had committed aa offense against 
:iie I would receive into favor and never recall their 
misconduct. Wherefore I once more appeal to your 
royal goodness; confirm to me undiminished all those 
rights over my subjects which my ancestors have en- 
joyed. Let not your ear heed to the whisperings of 
my enemies who seek to subvert my rights and my 
inheritance. Besides, as already said, I have never 
objected to have the Vvkovici included in our treaty. 
If anything contrary to this has happened, it has oc- 
curred without my wish and against my permission. 
I repose in your goodness the firm confidence that you 
will prefer to augment than to diminish the estab- 
lished rights of my country, especially as I am a 
member of an empire which cannot possibly grow 
strong through the enfeeblement of its component 
parts." 

Otakar's destruction either by open warfare or by 
ruinous enforced concessions had been resolved on. 
His resistance to the conditions proposed by the arch- 
duke was interpreted as a mark of hostility, and 



OTAKAR II 279 

Rudolph tlierefore took offense at the remonstrance 
sent to him, although in itself harmless and reason- 
able. There is no indication of the "violent invec- 
tives" v/hich some panegyrists of Rudolph have imag- 
ined as contained in Otakar's correspondence. The 
emperor did not require invectives of any kind. He 
was placed in the position held to do certain work on 
any pretext and he did it. The electors were the elec- 
tors of the empire as it had been. The utter subver- 
sion of Bohemia was the intention. Rudolph succeed- 
ed in that p>urpose only in part. 

Imperial displeasure having signified that the king 
of Bohemia's remonstrances meant war, hostile prep- 
arations speedily followed on both sides. Otakar 
again endeavored to gain the adhesion of Bavaria; 
and a large donation in coin was presented to the 
duke. The silver mines developed during the preced- 
ing century liberally supplied the royal exchequer; 
and thus her riches as well as her honor provoked the 
aggressors of Bohemia. In manly vigor and intrep- 
idity of mind, in public enterprise, and active courage 
Otakar had few equals in his day. Repossessed those 
royal qualities that conferred consistency on all his 
actions, and elevated him far above the rugged, mucli 
more the robber, spirit that prevailed among his con- 
temporaries. .He had never been an adventurer in 
search of wages like Rudolph who had been all his 
life little better than a freelance. The habits and tone 
of royal authority were congenial to the philosophical 
temper and knighcly ardor that distinguished him even 
above many of his family; and a descent to a baseness 
was impossible to him. He could do and he did sev- 
ere things, and he inflicted punishments in accordance 
with the penal code of his time. But the habits of 



v28o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

that age were lawless; and officials in high position 
frequently practised enormities that called for penal- 
ties which recent days would pronounce excessive. 

The public calamities produced profound grief in 
the palace. Queen Kunigunde was sustained by the 
gentle reproofs of her husband; but a shelter must be 
found for the princess Kunigunde, and at length it was 
obtained with her great aunt, Agnes. To his faithful 
retainers Otakar wrote in most manly tone declaring 
that he would share his fortune with them even to the 
last penn}-. The exactions, perhaps necessary, cer- 
tainly severe, enforced by Rudolph in Austria created 
much enmity and many offers of assistance reached 
Otakar from that quarter. Several powerful persons 
promised neutralit}'. The court of Hungary continued 
implacable, and would accept no terms whatever with 
Bohemia. Assistance was expected also from Silesia, 
Poland, and Brandenburg; but this last power was 
probably bought off by promise of future opportuni- 
ties of enrichment in the vanquished kingdom. 

Great indeed was the public grief when the king 
made his formal departure from Prague. All ranks 
and conditions loudly expressed their sorrow and 
alarm. Otakar's force was assembled at Briinn, and 
did not reach thirty thousand men. Again at the 
most fatal moment a vital stroke was directed against 
Otakar from Rome. Pope Nicholas III. fulminated 
the ban of the church against all the adversaries of 
Rudolph; and his emissaries the archbishop of Salz- 
burg and other ecclesiastics exerted themselves in pub- 
lishing and applying i^ to the one man specially in- 
tended. Bishop Bruno withdrew from his patron; 
disloyalty infected the leaders of his divisions, and 
traitorous correspondence was maintained with the 



OTAKAR II 281 

enemy almost openly. With his usual promptitude 
the king commenced operations on the Austrian fron- 
tier. Some fortresses were taken, others surrendered. 
The allied enemies advanced rapidly, and crossed at 
Presburg and Haimburg; and Otakar withdrew. The 
banks of the March or Morava again became the thea- 
tre of conflict; and the field of Jedensburg near Weid- 
endorf beheld the last struggle for the independence, 
the existence of Bohemia as a sovereign state. The 
imperialist forces outnumbered their opponents four- 
fold. Hungarians, Styrians, and Carinthians swelled 
the ranks of Rudolph's army until his line overlapped 
that of his opponent on both flanks, and allowed 
large bodies to be detached toward his rear to plun- 
der the country. The news of mutiny in his camp 
reached the king, and stung him to the soul. Taking 
off his armor he presented himself to his assembled 
officers and demanded that any of them whom he had 
wronged should wreak his vengeance then on him 
alone, and not permit thousands to die in the contest 
that was impending. 

Each commander formed his lines with care. On 
Rudolph's side the advanced guard consisted of Hun- 
garians and Cumanians who extended the line to Dur- 
renkrut and Idunspeigen. The Austrians formed the 
rear guard under the veteran Henry de Lichtenstein. 
The Austrian banner was borne by the chief justiciar 
of the province Otho de Haslan a centenarian. The 
Count de Hochperg bore the imperial eagle; and 
Peter de Mullinen held up the lion of Habsburg. 
Rudolph in person commanded the centre ; and be- 
side him his son Albert held the banner of the cross. 
The reserve was entrusted to Ulrich de Capellen. Ber- 
thold Kappler served as chief aid to the emperor. 

Early on the 26th of August, 1278, the Cumanian 



282 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

horse commenced the atack on the flanks. The main 
body speedily advanced with a rush; but the hand to 
hand conflict was long and doubtful. The carnage 
was great on both sides. The Bohemians never gave 
way; but their scanty numbers rapidly diminished. 
Battalions of Poles, Russians, and Bohemians per- 
ished in the stream. Otakar himself led a chosen 
troop where the danger was most imminent; and en- 
veloped by enemies he fought that day with the des- 
peration of a great soul driven to extremity by treach- 
ery and oppression. 

Still the full measure of betrayal was not complete 
and Otakar's field marshal Milota of Didice drew 
off from the field, and abandoned his king in the very 
hottest of the battle. Otakar's valiant and faithful 
son, Duke Nicholas, was made prisoner; and still 
knights and nobles and sturdy farmers fought on with 
thinned ranks and with failing strength. Two Polish 
and Thuringian knights made a combined dash against 
Rudolph ; one of whom Herbot of Fallenstein assailed 
the emperor direct and the other slew his charger. 

The emperor was unhorsed and nearly trampled to 
death. Rudolph sheltered his face with his shield; 
and the superiority of his guards to the assailants in 
numbers at length rescued him from his peril, and sup- 
plied another horse. Otakar was the object now of 
personal attack surrounded as he was by a gallant few; 
and distinguished by pre-eminent valor and activity. 
Every one of his faithful squires was slain, and the 
king himself at length flung to the ground, his horse 
falling upon him. Recognized by his helm and royal 
cognizance he was dragged violently along the ground 
and his armor torn from his person. He was then a 
prisoner, and surrendered as such to his captors. At 



OTAKAR il 283 

that instant rode up Schenk von Emerberg, and Sieg- 
fried de Mahrenberg, whose father had perished by ju- 
dicial sentence. Seeing his enemy within his grasp 
Schenk stabbed Otakar through the neck with his 
lance, at the same instant uttering the most bitter re- 
proaches; and seventeen wounds attested' at once the 
supreme gallantry of the king and the ferocity of his 
enemies. Radoph himself acknowledged the splendid 
demeanor of his late adversary. "The aforesaid king," 
he wrote to Pope Nicholas, disdained to submit, and 
defended himself with wonderful courage and with the 
prowess and spirit of a giant." 

Rudolph's victory was more than complete and de- 
cisive ; it was overwhelming; it was a conquest. The 
laws, the institutions, the life and organization, the 
self-existence of a vigorous independence that had de- 
fied armies and emperors for five hundred years were 
all crushed and almost annihilated by the slaughter 
of Weidendorf. The name and the rights of Bohemia 
henceforward existed merely in broken patches that 
held together only by ragged connecting portions; and 
while by degrees the vigorous growth of the native 
verdure slowly occupied its former ground, and even 
spread until it united again many waste places left 
bare by the tread of the spoiler, yet the continuity 
was never again complete; and empty spaces have 
ever since spread their bare expanse toward the day, 
or formed the scene of a strange growth painfuly con- 
trasting with the indigenous foliage that encircles it. 
Otakar had been justified in considering liimself the 
foremost man in Europe after the decease of the em- 
peror Richard. His proceedings in taking up the 
government of the provinces formerly subject to Ger- 
man princes had been'sanctioned and legalized by the 



284 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

emperor recognized by the greatest portion of Ger- 
many. Richard was both de facto and de jure em- 
peror. The utmost sanction and encouragement 
from all authorities of the day both in Rome and Ger- 
many had been bestowed, with all the confirmation 
that solemn religious sanction could confer, on Ota- 
kar's actions up to the day when the free lance knight 
was elected emperor. The disorders of the period, the 
degraded condition of every principality, and the evil 
character belonging to the ruling classes in Germany 
created of themselves a contrast immeasurably in fa- 
vor of the long established, regular, organized and 
prosperous institutional system of which Otakar in 
Bohemia was the representative and the executive. 
He was king, descendant of a long Hne of illustrious 
ancestors; and his power and prosperity conferred a 
dignity unrivaled in his day. His personal character, 
his knightly achievements, his broad and liberal edu- 
cation, and his strength and success as administrator, 
rendered the place of his home and power envied in 
Europe, and correspondingly hated b}' the turbulent 
depredators who surrounded him. But in an evil day 
the cold carbonic acid of a silent and invisible sub- 
tlety was poured over the free and kindly light and 
flame of Bohemian civilization, and spread its deadly 
miasma wherever its poison breath extended. Its effects 
were felt but their causes could not then be analyzed. 
The sense of its destroying influence in one direction, 
and of its hateful fertilization in another nurtured a 
distrust in the minds of patriots; and the royal hand 
by which the poison was poured out in unconsciousness 
of its effects was cursed by those who felt the conse- 
quences. Wenzel and Otakar overspread the native 
elasticity of Bohemian free action with an alien juris- 



OTAKAR II 285 

diction which restrained first and then choked it; and 
when the intel-ligent sense of Bohemia's leaders dis- 
cerned the evil, and endeavored to correct it by polit- 
ical association and effort, their proceedings were 
branded as disloyalty. Otakar was a dupe to the fatal 
influence of his aunt Agnes, and the imported and an 
tagonistic clericalism that she largely established in 
Bohemian palaces. He thought t]ie bishop of Rome 
was sincere in his professions of regard; and he was 
of too chivalrous a temper to suspect treachery of 
which those professions were the cover. He also leant 
largely on the support of ecclesiastics, little dreaming 
that those servants of an alien must obey that alien 
even to the utter reversal of a policy arid involving the 
destruction of a throne or the humiliation of a king- 
dom when the duplicity or the rapacity of that alien 
requires the perpetration of the aggression, Rome's 
rule was that of the cloister and the priest; Bohemia's 
rule was that of the law, the magistrate, the judge, 
the administrator, the king. The latter must be swept 
away if the former is to be uncontrolled. Not Bohe- 
mia only, but Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, 
the Italian cities and possibly the empire itself seemed 
in the direct way to an acceptance and consolidation 
of the institutional self-government without priests 
that distinguished Bohemia. All this was known at 
Rome far better than at Prague ; and the freebooter 
of Habsburg was the select instrument of the eccle- 
siastical rapacity of the time for the destruction of the 
national autocracy and inherent self-government where- 
on Bohemia had founded and sustained her glory, her 
intelligence, and at length her dominion and her great- 
ness. It was Rome that struck Bohemia down; and 
the subserviency of Habsburg has been Rome's chief 



286 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

instrumentality for similar purposes ever since. 

Hearing that his opponent was taken Rudolph or- 
dered his life to be protected, and at once rode for- 
ward to the spot. But vengeance had already done its 
work. The king unarmored and a prisoner had been 
murdered on the field, and blood and mire were now 
the only vesture that enveloped him. The body was 
placed on a carriage and conveyed to Vienna. Being 
embalmed after a coarse and brutal fashion* the re- 
mains were retained for thirty weeks subject to pub- 
lic view,, in order, we must suppose, that no doubt of 
Otakar's death might remain, and no personation might 
be attempted, as was frequently the case on the dis- 
appearance of crusaders; and as subsequently occurred 
in 1285 respecting Frederic II. t 

Dying as he died under ban of the church no chant 
was heard at his obsequies, when finally his body was 
interred; no church bell tolled in mourning for the 
life of a Christian departed. And yet Otakar had 
never a quarrel with Rome. He had never been accused 
of any offense either of faith or of morality. No ci- 
tation had been issued to him to appear at an}' tribu- 
nal, and no question had been raised for him to ex- 
plain or to answer. The ban was pronounced against 
him directly and by implication, and at a moment 
when its force must operate without the possibility 
of concession on his part. But Otakar's memory is 
enshrined as sacred in the heart of every Bohemian ; 
the silence of toll or chant is more than replaced by 

* Paltrani Wazo se plaint dans sa chroniqe de ce qu' on ait vide 
un si grand prince comme un poisson. Dumesnil. For similar reas- 
ons the body of James V., of Scotland was long left unburied after 
Floddenfield. 

f The conspicuous instance of King Sebastian of Portugal will also 
at once occur to the reader. 



OTAKAR II 287 

reverent words wherever a Bohemian tongue finds 
utterance , and a grand anthem of praise mingles the 
voices of Bohemians for the first great martyr of their 
nation to the tyranny of Rome. 

The border situation of Bohemia, and its position 
as the thoroughfare on one of the great commercial 
highways, the variety of nationalities and races present 
in her markets, and commercial houses, compelled the a- 
doption of a broad and comprehensive policy. All class- 
es of merchants were encouraged, and no discriminat- 
ing practices permitted against any. Greeks, Franks, 
Armenians, Venetians, Florentines, Pisans, Jews, 
Cumanians and Russians all frequented the thorough 
fare at Prague, and no fanat'cal animosity was permit ■ 
ted to impede the effort for prosperity. At the mo- 
ment when legislation of the most repressive character 
stained the decrees of synods, and marked the barbar- 
ism of ecclesiastical ordinances, the laws of Bohemia 
were emphatic in favor of impartial justice to all ranks 
and races.* 

The lawless spirit of the age produced a class of 
robber knights who lived by violence and deprefation. 
But the King of Bohemia directed much attention to 
these desperadoes, and destroyed their strongholds 
wherever established within anj^ of his territories. So 
wild was the temper of men, and so completely had 
the spirit of license taken possession of numerous 
classes that all restraint was resented as the depriva- 
tion of a right, and punishment for crime provoked 
eternal animosity. It was the magistrate who became 
the criminal and the tyrant; the robber was only pur- 
suing his calling. 

* At the council of Vienna in 1267, very inhuman enactments were 
passed against Jews by cardinal legate Guide. 



288 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Otakar has been accused of barbarous severity and 
cruelty in his punishments. He is said to have im- 
prisoned the chief justiciary of Austria in a narrow 
dungeon, and then burned hmi alive by filling the cell 
with straw; and to have ordered a Styrian knight 
Siegfried von Mahrenberg to be dragged at a horse's 
tail and then hanged by the feet. That Otakar ever 
ordered or countenanced so atrocious a proceeding is 
wholly incredible. The entire course of his admin- 
istration, and the tone of his orders and reprimands to 
his representatives are pronouncedly at variance with 
this accusation. Compare his reproofs to the chief 
land justiciary of Bohemia on the occasion of an act 
of barbarism that indicates the fierce spirit of the 
age. "The man who exceeds justice does more than 
his functions require," wrote the king to his overzeal- 
ous subordinate; "I am informed that you are inclined 
to an excess of severity; and that in the duties en- 
trusted to you, it is a thirst, unmerciful and pitiless, 
for punishment rather than for justice and right that 
}^ou exhibit. You have caused a woman who had 
murdered her husband in a very artful manner to be 
subjected to barbarous torture during her pregnancy. 
Although this woman merited severe punishment for 
her offense, yet you ought to have waited until after 
her delivery. In other cases also you exceed the pen- 
alty of the sentence, so that men must believe that 
you have a craving to inflict punishment. Reflect 
then, that to exceed due limit is as censurable as to 
fall below it; and govern yourself in future in -such 
wise that you may not be unjust through an excessive 
zeal for justice." If such a spirit had then generally 
prevailed, the horror? tliat filled Europe with fire and 
faggots must have been absent from the dreadful re- 



OTAKAR II 289 

cital that tells of the alleged reign of Christ converted 
into the reign of Moloch. 

In his personal relations the king was a good and 
devoted husband, a tender and solicitous father, a 
strict and careful master, and a devout and exemplarj' 
worshiper. No levity of thought depressed the dignity 
of his demeanor; no impropriety of language disfig- 
ured the calmness of his utterance. Careful in speech 
but possessed of a manly and persuasive eloquence for 
the appropriate occasion the King of Bohemia was al- 
ways candid and straightforward. Being slightly above 
the medium height, with a broad forehead, and a ro- 
bust and muscular but active frame Otakar was distin- 
guished in the knightly lists. His hair was tawny, 
inclining to red, and he possessed a distinctly Bohe- 
mian cast of countenance. 

At a time when the mutilation and debasement of 
the coin was almost universal, and kings adopted the 
evil practice in the growing scarcity of silver, the 
sound money of Bohemia was remarkable in Europe 
for size, purity and purchasing power. The ancient 
Hohlpfennings or Shillings, of which twenty-two 
weighed a pound, were succeeded by heavy groschen, 
or grosses, sixty of which were equal to a silver mark, 
and by the albus or white penny of varying degrees. 
The broad groschen of Prague graduall}^ became 
noted. They were reckoned by scores and sixties. 
Commerce with the Italian cities, Venice, Florence 
and others, and with Sicily and Alexandria introduced 
a wealth of rich merchandise. The splendid attire 
of the palace attendants and courtiers was unusual in 
that day. The plunder of Otakar's camp after the 
battle of Weidendorf filled the conquerors with 
amazement; and furnished the castles of the impe- 



290 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

rialists with trophies for dress and the table which 
they had never previously seen equaled. 

Otakar had a direct and pointed method of address 
with his officers that partook more of the emphatic 
tone of command suitable to military relations. Even 
Milota of Dedice was not above the sharp reprimand 
of Otakar for excessive severity in his administration 
of Moravia; and the haughty spirit of this able man 
rankled under the reproof. That Otakar not only was 
not a tyrant but that he was a strict disciplinarian is 
proved be3'ond contradiction by his letters still extant. 
But it has been convenient to demonstrate the guilt of 
the man whom Rudolph was hired to destroy; and to 
build the fame of a dynasty on unfounded calumnies 
against the memory of an adversary. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

DISORGANIZED CONDITION OF BOHEMIA AFTER THE DEATH 
OF OTAKAR. 

The condition of Bohemia on the death of Otakar 
resembled in some respects by anticipation, the condi- 
tion of England after the execution of King Charles I. 
New political and social ideas had agitated men's 
minds for a generation. Religious differences had 
created wide divergencies of belief and practice. The 
governing classes were divided in allegiance between 
the old loyalty and the new; serious estrangements 
had taken place between the reigning prince and pow- 
erful nobles who had not forgotten ancient law and 
settled national rights by reason of augmented claims 
on the part of their prince. Otakar, like Charles, had 
united all the branches of administration in his own per- 
son, employing a strong subordinate as representative 
and executive agent at each seat of government. The 
Bohemian, like the English prince, was a man of 
strong and cultivated mipd, highly accomplished, and 
of arbitrary habits. In each case when the man 
went down the administration fell. Large numbers 
of the noble class had perished on the fatal Flodden 
of Jedensburg; many more had accompanied duke 
Nicholas, son of Otakar, to Hungary as prisoners of 
war, and many of these were sold to the Tartars. 
Thousands of the most attached and faithful retainers 
had met the fate of their leaders. The royal party 

291 



292 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in Bohemia was broken; and for. five painful and dis- 
astrous years the country felt all the rigor of famine, 
pestilence, anarchy, invasion, plunder and devasta- 
tion. The very heavens denied their accustomed be- 
neficence; and a parched and arid earth multiplied 
and intensified the miseries of the wretched inhabitants. 
Bands of fierce and wild Cumanian marauders trav- 
ersed Moravia, and spread havoc. Towns, villages, 
and farm houses without number went away in flame. 
The miserable cultivators fled to wastes and forests, 
and thousands perished from destitution. Rudolph 
established his camp in the desolated province, and 
the chief persons of Moravia, including bishop Bruno, 
addressed a most earnest remonstrance to the conqueror 
against the atrocities perpetrated by the ruffian hordes 
of his allies. Some relief was afforded. Rudolph 
employed the opportunity in modifying some of the 
essential principles of the government, and in substi- 
tuting a more direct dependence on the emperor than 
had previously existed. Briinn, however, was made a 
free city in consideration of its profuse demonstra- 
tions on Rudolph's entry; but the honor was empty 
and evanescent. 

Bohemia was distracted between the partizans of 
the queen and of Otto of Brandenburg, nephew of 
Otakar, who had manifested zeal in her interest on 
some occasions, and appeared now to be the only lead- 
er capable of restoring order. The queen's partizans 
concluded an agreement with Rudolph conceding to 
him a protectorate over Bohemia until young prince 
Wenzel, then seven years of age, should reach his 
majority. The barons who sustained Otto, however, 
were far from assenting to this arrangement. Indig- 
nant at the imperious tone adopted by the new kaiser. 



AFTER THE DEA TH OF O TAKAR 293 

the malcontents united their strength with the forces 
of Otto, and Rudolph was compelled to listen to a 
more equitable adjustment. The two armies confronted 
each other at Kolin near the Elbe; but the presence 
of Otto avoided an engagement which could only ter- 
minate eventually to the disaster of Bohemia, however 
one battle might result. Plenipotentiaries on both 
sides established a compact by which the guardianship 
of young Wenzel, and the regency of the kingdom, 
were conferred on Otto for five years. Moravia was 
handed over to Rudolph for the same period to enable 
him to indemnify himself for the expenses of the war; 
Henry IV., Duke of Breslau, obtained Glatz for life; 
King Wenzel should marry Rudolph's daughter Ju- 
dith, and Prince Rudolph should marry the Princess 
Agnes; finally the house of Brandenburg secured an 
imperial family alliance by a project of marriage be- 
tween Rudolph's daughter Hedwig and Ottik, brother 
of Otto the Tall. Rudolph proved himself unparal- 
leled as a match maker. During the same year the sol- 
emn mockery of marriage vvas enacted between Wenzel 
and Judith, each about eight years old, and Rudolph 
and Agnes who boasted of ten summers. The bish- 
ops of Olmiitz and Basle performed the ceremony, as 
whenever did a bishop not perform any ceremony of 
the kind, however jejune, when hi s interests enjoined 
it? Political expediency is, or was in those days, a 
wonderful alleviation of doctrines and moral princi- 
ples, and made them sit easy on fat consciences. 
Splendid tournaments accompanied these events by 
which God and humanity were alike mocked, and 
Rudolph with joy in his heart departed for Vienna. 

During all this time, it will be remembered, no 
sepulture had been accorded to the remains of the 



294 HrSTORY OF BOHEMIA 

murdered Otakar; and the ceremony of marriage was 
enforced on the helpless son, still a child, while the 
body of his illustrious father lay still exposed for the 
gaze of an irreverent and superstitious multitude. Not 
until March, 1279, was any step taken toward burial 
of the dead king. Ey intercession of the queen the 
body was then removed from Vienna, and temporarily 
deposited in Znaim. Not until 1279 was a worthy re- 
pose conferred on the hero of Bohemia at Prague.* 
Still further distractions and disasters awaited un- 
happy Bohemia. Many of the nobles dispossessed of 
their estates by Otakar now returned and demanded 
restitution. Fierce personal contentions were thus 
multiplied. Many petty civil wars raged at the same 
moment; and Otto did not possess the power, and 
perhaps not the inclination, to intervene. He prob- 
ably knew that many of the returning exiles were 
the vigorous champions of Bohemia as she had been; 
and would thus form the most reliable supporters 
against Rudolph's grasping spirit. Otto himself be- 
came not only the dictator but the devourer of the 
country. He dispossessed the royal family from all 
dignity in Prague where the queen had maintained 
her court under the old form but with vastly dimin- 
ished splendor. The treasuries and archives preserved 
in the cathedral of St. Vitus were also seized, and 
many of the most valuable m.emorials lost for ever. 
The cathedra] itself was closed, and even the bells 
were silent for two years, mute evidences and parti- 
cipants of the oppressive grief of the nation. Even 

* Singular to narrate the peasantry long entertained the same ex- 
pectation of Otakar's return that had distinguished the Germans who 
for generations looked for Frederic Barbarossa; and the Bretons who 
awaited Arthur. The idea of a resurrectionary re-appearance of great 
characters long anteceded Christianity; and was in ancient times a 
common accompaniment of their decease. 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 295 

bishop Tobias, elected to the see of Prague and conse- 
crated in 1279, was compelled to forego all entrance to 
his cathedral and was obliged to commence his epis- 
copal ministrations in a provincial church at Stra- 
hov. 

During an absence in his own dominions Otto en- 
trusted Bohemia to Bishop Eberhard of Brandenburg, 
a rough, hard man. In this interval the condition of 
the country became deplorable. Bands of plunderers, 
chieiiy Germans, traversed the towns and villages levy- 
ing the most exacting contributions, and seizing all with- 
in reach that they coveted. Violence and robbery of 
every description oppressed and destroyed the people. 
The population fled to the mountains and perished of 
cold and want. Districts were completely devastated 
and depopulated where had been comfort and peace. 
Ravage covered the face of the land, and only skel- 
etons lay around where songs and music had cheered 
the day. Famished wretches thronged to the abodes 
where anything yet remained, and snatched the food of 
the inmates from the- board, and struggled over ca- 
rion. Even Rudolph was aroused by the dreadful dis- 
tress, and appeared with some forces in Bohemia in 
1280. The elements seemed to combine with human 
wickedness to intensify the public woe, and a dreadful 
tempest added largely to the prevailing devastation. 

After another year of anarchy and suffering the coun- 
try being on the eve of total destruction, a remnant of 
the estates assembled, and adopted the most stringent 
resolutions in order to deliver the nation from the 
miscreant bands that ravaged it. Every man present 
pledged himself to unite with ever}' other in order to 
exterminate the depredators. Large amounts of pub- 
lic property had fallen into private hands during the 



296 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

confusion; and all this was peremptorily required to 
be surrendered for the benefit of the young king. Only 
fourteen days were allowed either to church corpora- 
tions or private individuals to complete this surrender 
under penalty of instant prosecution. 

During these painful troubles the fields were left 
untilled, and even seed corn was consumed. Bohemia 
that had been a granary for eastern Europe could 
hardly produce a kernel for her own use. Famine 
and her daughter pestilence stalked in ghastly array 
through the stricken land, and left appalling tokens 
of their potency. Starving wretches might be seen in 
every direction endeavoring to drag their wasted forms 
over the frontier, to seek in more favored regions the 
scanty sustenance utterly denied them in their own; 
and the highways were strewn with the bleaching 
bones of the victims of the treachery of a pope and the 
fury of his lieutenants 

A favorable harvest in 1282, though scanty, afforded 
some relief. Order and industry began to reappear, 
as famine and pestilence subsided. During the same 
year under pretense of affording protection Otto car- 
ried off young Wenzel beyond the frontiers, and im- 
mured him in one of the fortresses of Brandenburg. 
Here the boy was grossly neglected. He was left des- 
titute even of necessary food and clothing. Education 
was not thought of; and the son of the illustrious 
Otakar was reduced to the most ignominious depend- 
ence. Here compulsory attendance at twenty masses 
a day formed the only education conferred on him. 
Even at his restoration to Prague Wenzel was unable 
to read; and his total dependence on menials selected 
for the purpose produced a narrowness of intelligence 
Very far removed from the vigorous intellectual self- 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 297 

assertion of his father. All this was exactly suited to 
the policy of Rome and of Vienna. 

The obscurity and inactivity of exile were ill-adapt- 
ed to the aspiring spirit of Queen Kunigunde. Escap- 
ing from her attendants on pretense of a hawking ex- 
pedition the queen fled to Prague and thence to Mora- 
via. Several enthusiastic nobles in chivalrous com- 
passion for the depressed situation of the widow and 
son of their late sovereign, combined in her favor; and 
enabled her to secure an establishment suited to her 
rank in the castle of Gratz near Troppau. Here the 
queen maintained a petty court in which royalty was 
imitated on a very diminished scale. But her pretensions 
drew forth an expression of serious opposition from 
many of the most powerful barons, and a formidable 
combination threatened the extinction of the liliputian 
royalty. But ambition on one side, and the charms 
of a clever and attractive queen widow naturally com- 
bined to obtain for Kunigunde the personal regard 
and active intervention of one of the most able, and 
possibly one of the most patriotic men in the nation, 
— Zavise of Falkenstein. This nobleman, possessing 
a commanding presence, unusual ability and capacity 
for affairs, one of the soldier-poets and literary-war- 
riors who combined in a marked degree the highest 
physical and mental accomplishments, and were equally 
at home in the camp, the forum, the senate, or the 
council chamber, discovered in the active temper, and 
ambitious mind of the queen a spirit congenial to his 
own, and speedily became the controling power in the 
royal widow's counsels. Men were not surprised, but, 
public opinion affected to be scandalized bv the mar- 
riage of these two persons. But this event seemed to 
portend a menace to the peace of Bohemia; and loud 



298 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

imperious calls became universal for the restoration 
of the Bohemian monarchy. 

At length in May 1283 the wishes of the nation were 
gratified by the return of the young king Wenzel to 
Prague. The regency of Otto of Brandenburg ex- 
pired by limitation; and all ranks welcomed back 
the sole surviving representative of the most ancient 
and illustrious royal family in Europe. Court and 
administrative offices were speedily filled and regular 
government with as much splendor as could be as- 
sumed was re-established. As the boy had been for- 
cibly separated from his mother in his tender years, 
and in the perils of penury and exile, now on his res- 
toration to honor and prosperity the youthful feelings 
natural to a boy of twelve again yearned for his moth- 
er's society. Not only Queen Kunigunde but her hus- 
band Zavise of Falkenstein* was speedily installed in 
the palace; and the strong character, and resolute en- 
lightened genius of the latter rendered his very 
presence a formidable power immediately. He was 
sustained, too, by a numerous party of adherents, and 
became without any decree or formality, the practical 
ruler of the country. The recent afflictions of the nation 
had sobered men's temper; and a condition of things 
that must inevitably have entailed a sanguinary civil 
war only a few years previously was now arranged by 
common consent on the basis of existing facts. Zavise 
proved himself a wise, strong ruler. He subdued re- 
fractory chieftains; dispossessed robber knights, broke 
Ihe power of banded plunderers, and united the whole 
J'ealm under the undisputed authority of King Wenzel. 
But as the prince advanced in years he gradually be- 

* He always styled himself Von Ftirstenburg; the name in the 

text is the one by which he is geneialJjT known. 



AFTER THE DEATH OE OTA EAR 29^ 

came restless under the enforced dependence on the 
great regent. Wenzel developed a temper and die- 
position very dissimilar from those of his father or any 
other of the Premysls. Whether from natural tem- 
perament or the training he now received, he exhibit- 
ed a tendency toward suspicion and treachery. The 
sentiments he expressed and the views he adopted of 
the relations of men toward each other and toward 
events, gave proof of the inculcation of sentiments 
totally unlike the broad humanitarian philosophy and 
lofty views of human duties that formed the practical 
creed of King Otakar. In fact Wenzel was long in- 
capable of entertaining any sentiments but those sug- 
gested to him by the servants of Rudolph and the 
ecclesiastics around him. 

Rudolph viewed the elevation of Zavise of Falken- 
stein with displeasure.* The statesman-warrior was 
strong in comprehension of the imperial purposes, and 
his policy was strictly national. f Rudolph omitted few 
opportunities to signify his disapproval of the au- 
thority conferred on the distinguished soldier-poet. 
The unexpected demise of Qu,een Kunigunde in 1285 
was the forerunner of the fall and fate of Zavise. Ru- 
dolph's influence over his son in law naturally in- 
creased; and the queen's death was highly convenient 
to that party. Zavise had little if any farther claim 
on an administration, which as husband of the queen- 
mother could with difificulty be denied him. In a brief 
period friends withdrew and enemies declared them- 
selves. The favorite was accused of diverting public 

* He was in fact the "Le nomme Stein" of the period, 

f The German writers have alwavs spoken most disrespectfully if 
not abusively of Zavise. This fact alone proves him to have been a 
patriotic Bohemian. 



300 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

property to his private uses; but secure in his own 
stronghold of Fiirstenberg on the Moravian border 
and surrounded by devoted and numerous partizans, 
neither Wenzel nor Rudolph considered an open rup- 
ture at all prudent. In order to strengthen his posi- 
tion Zavise courted and secured a marriage alliance 
with the ruling house of Hungary. King Ladislav's 
sister Judith had already become an inmate of a nun- 
nery; but a dispensation was readily obtained; and 
for sometime Zavise and his young wife enjoyed a 
secure and happy retirement on their own domains. 
To Zavise Queen Kunigundehad borne a son, and her 
individual property was held for him by his father. 
This circumstance became the occasion which led to 
one of the most odious acts of treachery known in the 
black annals of human deceitfulness. The birth of a 
son to Zavise and his young wife became the cause of 
rejoicing at Fiirstenberg; and King Wenzel was corte- 
ously invited to the festivities. A cordial acceptance 
was returned on the part of the king, and Zavise was 
requested in most friendly language to present the in- 
vitation at Prague. With a mind too large, and a 
temper too noble to attribute any baseness to his 
prince, Zavise appeared at the capital. In his friendly 
heart a sense of politeness and respect suggested an 
appropriate present to the young queen ; and a veil of 
costly material and elaborate pattern expressed the 
good wishes of the donor. But the palace of Bohe- 
mia had sunk beneath the control of a dark suspicious 
superstition; and the innocent work of skilful fingers 
was interpreted as the bearer of some secret and magic 
enchantment intended to work a fatal spell against the 
recipient of the siiKple gift. The veil was flung into 
the fire as if infected with some malediction of the 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 301 

black art; and the courteous visitor and guest was in- 
formed by nine armed bravoes that he was the king's 
prisoner. Long did the gallant man resist the treach- 
ery which thus assailed hini. At length beaten down 
by numbers, the valiant knight was fast manacled 
and closely incarcerated in the White Tower at Prague, 
His cell was illuminated by the genius of the illus- 
trious occupant; poems which were long remembered 
attested at once the business of his captors, and the 
manly constancy of their victim; and the White 
Tower of the Burgate acquired a renown similar to 
that of another White Tower on the Thames as the 
scene of the dastardly baseness of a prince, and the 
resplendent worthiness of a captive. Never before 
had the throne of Bohemia fallen so low; never had 
the dark deceitfulness of superstitious venom and ig- 
norance found entrance into royal counsels in Bohe- 
mia. The same treachery that destroyed Otakar was 
now engrafted on the soul of the son and it bore fruit 
according to its kind. No temptation or cruelty could 
shake the constancy of the prisoner. The sum of fifty 
thousand marks demanded of him he declared to have 
been the private property of Queen Kunigunde, and 
by her conferred on her son; and nothing could in- 
duce him to retract any portion of what he affirmed 
to be the truth. 

Rudolph perceived his opportunit}' to destroy his 
enemy forever; and he was enabled to enforce his 
wishes inasmuch as Wenzel was compelled to accept 
his crown and dignit}', not as the free gift of the Bohe- 
mian estates, but as a fief of the empire. Shortly 
before his death in 1290 Rudolph had dispatched a 
force under command of his son Rudolph to the assist- 
ance of Wenzel. The towns and castles belonging to 



302 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Zavise held out bravely; but a threat that further re- 
sistance could bring down vengeance on Zavise himself 
induced several to surrender out of affection for their 
chieftain. But a defiance of Duke Nicholas, half-broth- 
er of Wenzel, by Witek, brother of Zavise, who com- 
manded in Hluboka (Falkenberg), was the signal for 
the fatal display of vengeance felt by Nicholas against 
the friend and husband of the lady who had become 
queen to the exclusion of Margaret. and thus affected 
the rank possibly within his own reach, and by Wen- 
zel against the strong statesman who had dwarfed him 
in the eyes of the world, 

A sort of guillotine was erected before the walls of 
this place, and there on the 24th of August 1290 the 
prisoner met his death, a sharpened board being used 
for a knife, before the eyes of his retainers who would 
have died in his defense. A new monastery for the 
Cistercians perpetuated the triumph of Wenzel's 
treachery. 

Soon after these events the dissensions in Poland, 
originating with the subdivision of that country among 
the branches of the Piasti, afforded occasion for inter- 
vention in that region. Duke Casimir of Oppeln 
formally accepted investiture of his territory from 
Wenzel on condition of a guarantee against the other 
factions. The dukes of Ratibor, Benten, and Teschen 
followed the example of their brother Casimir. Queen 
Kunigunde's sister Griffina, widow of duke Lessek of 
Cracow, also claimed Wenzel's interposition. Otto of 
Brandenburg united his forces with the Bohemians 
and Cracow and Sieradz were speedily reduced. King 
Wenzel adopted the title of Duke of Cracow and 
Sandomir, and the power of Bohem.ia again extended 
to the Vistula. 



AFTER THE DEATH OP OTAKAk 303 

The impending election of emperor of Germany 
necessarily invited a manifestation of the claims of 
several ambitious candidates. Foremost among these 
was the proud and imperious Albert of Austria who 
presented his pretensions with an ostentatious dis- 
play of confidence. But his temper had been thorough- 
ly studied; and a more practicable person was pre- 
ferred. King Wenzel was a pronounced opponent 'of 
Albert; and the election of Adolphus of Nassau on 
May 2, 1292, created a sentiment of fierce resentment 
in the heart of Albert against the king of Bohemia. 
Truth, however, requires the statement that not the 
benefit of the empire, nor yet the merit of Adolphus 
had decided the vote of Wenzel as elector; but a mean 
feeling of personal pique against a person who was 
in personality much the superior of the king. A close 
friendship was, however, established between the new 
emperor and his influential supporter ; and a marriage 
alliance between prince Rupert and Judith of Bohemia 
was agreed on. The early death of the 3'oung princess 
interrupted the confirmation, but did not affect the 
permanence of this friendly relation. The payment 
of ten thousand marks in silver as dower was a wel- 
come addition to the treasury of the new emperor; and 
he could well afford to transfer some territories to 
Bohemia — German as they were. B}'^ these means Al- 
tenburg, Chemnitz and Zwickau and the territory of 
Eger that had until recently belonged to Bohemia were 
confirmed to Wenzel. In all these and similar trans- 
actions, it will be observed the possession of a liberal 
supply of solid silver by the Bohemian treasury was 
a marked feature, and it was easy for pauper emperors 
to purchase it by the cheap transfer of authority, more 
or less transitory, over towns and districts to which 



304 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

their onl}' right arose from the ceremony of. an elec- 
tion. 

In the years 1292 and 1293 the estates of Austria 
and Styria adopted a pronunciamento against Albert ; 
and deputies were dispatched to Prague who entreated 
armed intervention, and gave profuse promises of sup- 
port. Albert was then destitute of friends or allies. 
His violent conduct on the election of Adolphus had 
alienated many of his supporters; and even his former 
adherents in his own territories hated and forsook him. 
His sister, the queen of Bohemia, perceived the ris- 
ing peril, and strongly urged Albert to come at once 
to Prague in order to counteract it. Albert accepted 
this advice; appeared at Wenzel's court, acknowl- 
edged himself as vassal of the Bohemian crown ; and 
by the aid of the noisy and pitiful entreaties of the 
queen' was received again into favor and restored to 
his dominions. The return that Albert subsequently 
made for this magnanimity affords another instance of 
the deceit practiced on the Bohemian crown by those 
of its own household. 

The condition of Bohemia being now again peaceful 
and prosperous at home and abroad, King Wenzel 
directed his attention, as Otakar had done under sim- 
ilar circumstances, to the regulation of the laws and 
educational institutions of the kingdom. The former 
had never been regularly codified in writing in their 
entirety ; man}^ existed as customs more or less local 
in their application. An unwritten Common Law is 
in many respects superior to a code of statutes. The 
former is always practically expounded by the people 
themselves, and possesses an elasticity and applica- 
bility to modifications of circumstances that make it 
fit as the skin does to an animal. Written codes of 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 305 

statut'^s, although presumably known to all, are in 
fact never known to any, and their meaning is a fruit- 
ful source of discussion. Many customs can never 
be reduced to rules or expressed in words; and many 
others contain, in their practical application an ex- 
pressive fealty to feelings and deferences, which not 
seldom constitute the most valued part of the custom. 
The custom is the people themselves. The code is 
something outside them. Statutes are often the result 
of intrigue or malevolence. In America statute mak- 
ing has become a national vice; and is a serious na- 
tional misfortune. Men's rights are never certain, 
and can never be known ; and the opportunities for 
fraud in the multiplication of laws induces a disre- 
spect for the law, and hence for all law, that has 
reached the importance of a national calamity. A 
statute has come very largely to be regarded as the 
written villainy of some intriguer to serve a disin- 
genuous purpose. 

The Bohemians in the thirteenth century were as- 
tute enough to perceive the change likely, to arise in 
their business relations from a written code. They 
were proud of their ancient customs and adhered to 
them with great pertinacity.* But change was not 
King Wenzel's purpose. He desired a collection and 
classification of existing laws ; and with that object 
a learned jurist named Gotz was invited to Prague. 
The school re-organized by King Otakar, wherein 
Latin, philosophy, and theology were taught, and form- 
ing a kind of university, had been closed during the 
interregnum, but was now again opened to the youth 
of the country. That the kind and the tone of educa 
tion favored by Otakar formed one objection to him is 

* "Die Boehmen hielten sich auf ihre alten gewohnheiten." Pelzel. 



3o6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

beyond all dispute. It was never borrowed from 
Rome. Not only the civil and political but the edu- 
cational expansion of the national mind had been 
crushed. The conspicuous aspiration of the people 
had been fiercely combated the moment it began to 
assume formal expression. The same repression was 
effected three times subsequently, and on each occa- 
sion with increasingly calamitous results. 

King Wenzel employed his present repose in im- 
proving the internal condition of Bohemia, and effac- 
ing as far as possible the ravages of recent disasters. 
The policy of Otakar now bore great results. The 
mines vyere wrought energetically; the new corpora- 
tions advanced in wealth and importance; peace was 
assured along the great thoroughfares from Russia, 
Constantinople and the great Orient, and commerce 
resumed her elevating and enlightening career. Mer- 
chandise was transferred in security and to advantage 
from the Hoang ho and the Ganges to the Volga and ' 
the Humber. Mutterings of crusades were heard in- 
deed ; but the crusading motive had been disclosed. 
Princes had learned that their own states formed the 
proper object of their care, and afforded sufficient 
honor, and at times more than sufficient martyrdom. 
Pope Nicholas IV. endeavored to stimulate the flag- 
ging zeal of rulers; but messages to the kings of 
France, Armenia, Georgia, Cyprus, the Emperor of 
Trebizond, the Greek emperor Andronicus Palaeologus 
were not heeded. For a time the activities and con- 
quests of Chazan of Persia in Syria and Palestine, and 
the entr}?^ of Christians within the walls of Jerusalem 
under his banner promised to revive the drooping in- 
terest in the holy places. The singularity of the spec- 
tacle of the Mogul emperor from the Jaxartes en- 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 307 

camped on Calvary and Mount Zion inviting the 
Christian hosts of Europe to an alliance against the 
Mussulmans of the East, attracted a half incredulous 
attention. The ambassadors of Chazan were received 
with distinction at Rome; but the promises that 
greeted them sounded hollow. The haughty tone 
adopted by , Boniface VIII. who succeeded Nicholas 
in 1294, gave offense to Europe; and his petulant men- 
aces provoked a sentiment akin to indignation. The 
crushing delirium had passed away. Even the hel- 
mets and cuirasses that were prepared for the women 
of Genoa who had assumed the cross, and were exhib- 
ited in the arsenal of that city, failed to awaken a 
spark of chivalrous enthusiasm. The holocaust of 
children of 1212 had warned men of the intoxication 
of excessive devotion. 

The great enthusiasm that at one period almost 
ascended to the sublime -had fallen not alone to the 
ridiculous but to the grotesque. "Oh, prodigy! Oh, 
miracle," exclaimed Boniface, "a weak and timid sex 
takes the advance of warriors in this great enterprise, 
in this war against the enemies of Christ, in this fight 
against the workers of iniquity. The kings and 
princes of the earth, regardless of all the solicitations 
that have been made to them, refuse to send succors 
to the Christians banished from the holy land; and 
nere are women who come forward without being 
called!" The warriors thus reproached had long dis- 
covered that from all this fussiness nothing remained 
to themselves but a cross-legged effigy on a monument. 

Commerce had recentl}' been thoroughly re-estab- 
lished from Venice to the Thames and gained great 
accessions of strength, and control of the open sea. 
Bohemia was enabled to convert her mineral treas- 



3o8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ures into forms most readily applicable to the com- 
mand of other wealth ; and while her coffers were full the 
riches of the world were again within her reach. The 
face of the open country speedily lost the scars of war 
and devastation; agricultural wealth in cattle, horses, 
and grain accumulated; and even the export of eggs 
formed a seriously important item in the general com- 
merce. The moral and religious elements, however, 
remained far from being uniform or harmonious. 
Many communities of persons who regarded themselves 
as the true successors of the simple faith and observ- 
ances of the early disciples of the Christ preserved 
their organization and assemblies;* and Bohemia was 
still a center of hope and independence for their sym- 
pathizers in other lands. The creed and influence of 
the conquerors were associated with recent disasters; 
and men looked still with repugnance on the new the- 
ology and political dependence that had severed the 
existing court from the principles and the attitude of 
the nationalistic Premysls of old. There was that un- 
rest of mind that formed a prepared element for the 
reception anew of declarations of faith and worship, 
that promised emancipation from strange and lordly 
ceremonies, that severed the people from their ances- 
tral self-government, and were now associated with 
the intrigues and intriguers who had prostrated the 
nation. Men became still more ready to welcome back 
the old customs when associated with the idea of na- 
tional independence. The land and the neighboring 
lands were at peace and the conjuncture seemed favor- 
able for a splendid coronation ceremonial. The inter- 
change of formal visits with neighboring princes was 

* The destruction of these communities formed one important 
object of the hired depredators after Jedensburg. 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 309 

frequent; and Prague witnessed the presence and the 
courtliness of noble dames and gallant knights, and 
princely retinues on many joyous occasions. 

The month of June, 1297 beheld the assembly of 
princes and potentates, dignitaries and warriors, their 
wives, families and an immense throng of guests and 
visitors to assist at the coronation festivities. "Albert 
of Saxony and Albert of Austria, Margraves Otto and 
Hermann of Brandenburg, the princes of Silesia, and 
a great number of archbishops, and other nobles to 
the number of eight and thirty, with their retinues," 
were crowded within the walls of Prague, or provided 
with tents outside the gates*. 

But these gayeties were speedily replaced by bereave- 
ment and sorrow. The queen had not recovered suffi- 
ciently from her recent accouchement; and the fa- 
tigues of the ceremonial and receptions brought on an 
illness that terminated fatally in seventeen days. Her 
children were Wenzel, Anna, Margaret, and Eliza- 
beth. "The first princess became consort of Duke 
Henry of Carinthia, the second of Boleslav, Duke of 
Lignitz, and Elizabeth was consort of King John and 
mother of the emperor Charles IV. "f 

The occasion of Wenzel's coronation was seized on 
by the electors present to express their views respect- 
ing the deposition of the emperor that had already ob- 
tained some assent. The reasons alleged were the ac- 
ceptance by Adolphus of subsides from England to aid 
in the war against Philip the Fair of France. A 
meeting on this subject was held at Eger ; but Adolph- 
us had been notified; and the chief of the conspirators 
— Archbishop Eberhard, shut up in one of his own 

* Pelzel, I. 156. 
f Ibid, p. 157. 



31 o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

fortresses. But in February of the following year, 
1298, a more serious conference was held at Vienna on 
the occasion of the betrothal of Prince Wenzel with a 
daughter of King Andreas, The notables assembled 
included the King of Hungar}', with many prelates 
and nobles, King Wenzel and his half-brother, Nich- 
olas of Troppau, Albert, duke of Saxony, Hermann of 
Brandenburg, the archbishop of Cologne, Albert of 
Austria who had still his heart set on the empire, and 
formed at once the keystone and the object of the 
meeting. Albert engaged himself to Wenzel in the 
most solemn manner that in return for his electoral 
vote, he would restore all the ancient privileges and 
rights of Bohemia, would renounce all claim to hom- 
age and absolve Wenzel from attendance on court 
days, and confer Eger, Floss, Parkstein and Weida 
on the Bohemian crown, in return. for a payment of 
fifty thousand marks. Wenzel accepted these terms, 
and promised a large subsidy in money and an army 
corps. King Andreas also assisted his father-in-law 
with a large force of Hungarian and Ciimanian bow- 
men. Albert marched his army down the left bank of 
the Rhine. The two opposing forces met at Golheim 
upon the Donnersberg. Adolphus seeing his rival 
in the throng rushed toward him, exclaiming, "Here 
you shall yield me the empire." " That is in the hands 
of God," fiercely replied Albert and struck his oppo- 
nent to the ground, where he was killed instantl}'. 
In fulfillment of his promise Albert named Wenzel 
Statdholder of Meissen, Lausitz and the Pleissnerland. 
On the i6th of November Wenzel performed his du- 
ties as arch cup bearer on the occasion of the corona- 
tion of Albert's consort Elizabeth. On the following 
day an imperial edict was proclaimed declaring that 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 311 

this act should form no precedent; that the king of Bo- 
hemia was entitled to wear his crown in the presence 
of the emperor, and was not required to perform this 
office as cup-bearer while bearing his kingly crown.* 
Pirna, Saida and Borschenstein were confirmed to Bo- 
hemia. King Wenzel had thus become sovereign of 
extensive territories beyond the natural boundaries of 
Bohemia. Almost the whole of upper Saxony with 
all privileges and power of suzerain was in his hands; 
and his position was one of eminent dignity in Europe. 
No complaint from pope or prince of German terri- 
tory held by a Slavonian sovereign interfered with 
Wenzel's authority. In the case of Otakar that pre- 
tense had served its purpose, 

Dissensions in Poland induced a powerful party of 
nobles to invoke the interposition of Wenzel. Prz- 
emysl of Posen had been crowned king but reigned only 
seven months ; and was then succeeded by Vladis- 
lav Lokietek. The latter was driven out and wandered 
into foreign lands where he lived for a time in ob- 
scurity. Wenzel accepted the difficult task of main- 
taining order; and accomplished his purpose with the 
aid of a commission of royal representatives. The 
more effectually to strengthen his influence Wenzel 
was joined in marriage with Elizabeth daughter of King 
Przemysl, a princess of Brandenburg descent. A. D. 
1300. 

Hungar}' also was distracted with civil commotion. 

* This document originally appeared in Latin and bears date 1298, 
The important portions are subjoined, "Ea propter scire vos faci- 
mus et tenore prsesentium protestamur quod licet Illustres reges 
Bohemiae * * proedictis Rege vel Imperatore Coronam Regalem 
gestentibus cum eisdem, et eis prsesentibus corona Regia uti possint. 
non tamen in corona regia debent prasdicti reges Bohemiae proedictis 
Regi vel Imperatori ministrare in officio Pincernatus. " And of the 
performance of the office on this occasion "Hoc non de jure, sed ex 
mera dilectione." 



3 1 2 HIS TOR Y OF B OHE MIA 

After the death of King Andreas III, Carl Robert 
of Naples, grandson of Marie, sister of King Ladis- 
lav, became the chief claimant of the throne; but the 
Hungarian estates formally tendered the crown to 
King Wenzel in July, 1301. The latter deemed the 
burden of three kingdoms greater than his prudence 
or his strength would justify him in assuming; and 
after long deliberation, consultation with other pow- 
ers, and the bestowal of rich presents on the ambas- 
sadors Wenzel decided to present his son, then a lad 
of twelve years, to the Hungarian nation, with the 
condition that the prince should in time wed princess 
Elizabeth, daughter of Andreas. The partizans of 
Carl Robert still made head in Hungary. The Bo- 
hemian force that accompanied young Wenzel, aided 
by the retainers of his Hungarian allies encountered 
the hostile force before Gran. The latter were speed- 
ily routed; and Prince Wenzel was crowned with the 
crown of St. Stephen on the 26th of August in pres- 
ence of a great assemblage of the ecclesiastical and 
civil nobles and dignitaries. The ceremony of homage 
followed at Ofen; and the new ruler was formally 
acknowledged. 

Pope Boniface affected much displeasure on learning 
of the events in Poland and Hungar}'. His legate 
Nicholas, afterwards Benedict XI. declared himself in 
favor of neither of the successful parties ; and peremp- 
torily ordered the Hungarian clergy to favor the party 
of Carl Robert, His ignorance ot local affairs, and 
his presumption created violent animosity against 
him. He was driven with contumely out of Raab, 
Gran and Ofen; and in the last named town, at that 
time largely occupied by Waldensian sympathizers 
and disciples, he narrowly escaped from the wrath of 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 313 

the people whom he violently threatened. Hurling 
an angry interdict at the nation he hastened away; 
but a large part of the clergy openly defied him, and 
a furious cross fusilade of excommunications was the 
result. 

Boniface, however, persisted in fulminating angry 
prohibitions against Wenzel's interference in Poland 
and Hungary, especially the former. Wenzel's coun- 
cil were not daunted by these menaces. An alliance 
with Philip the Fair was promptly arranged; but the 
humiliation and death of the pope in 1303 deprived 
this union of much of its importance. In the mean- 
time Boniface had made use of Carl Robert to estab- 
lish his own supremacy in Poland; and the crafty 
jealousy of Albert of Austria was easily enlisted against 
Bohemia. The opportunity had at length arrived when 
this ruler could exhibit the cold duplicity of his char- 
acter. "Hard as the diamond was his heart." He 
had but one eye and the sinister look this deformity 
produced formed a faithful reflex of the nature with- 
in.* 

Albert became the active partizan of Boniface. One 
chief object in the emperor's policy was the posses- 
sion of the rich silver mines of Kuttenberg in Bohe- 
mia which were protected by a strong fortress. The 
surrender of these treasures for six years to Albert as 
emperor, or the payment of eighty thousand silver 
marks was imperiously demanded. The relinquishment 
of Eger, Meissen, Hungary and Poland was also in- 
sisted on. Wenzel replied that he had received some of 
his territories by inheritance, some by marriage, some 
by purchase, and others by spontaneous election from 

* The habit of one-eyed men to turn the face a little to one side 
makes the eye appear in the centre of the countenance. Hence per- 
haps the fable of the Cyclops. 



314 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the people; and he did not feel disposed to surren- 
der what no man had a better right to than he. On re- 
ceipt of this reply Wenzel and his son were proclaimed 
as under the ban of the empire. Thus fraudulent in- 
gratitude, and jealous enmity constituted the only 
return made for the magnanimity of King Wenzel when 
Albert needed forbearance. Wenzel despatched a dis- 
tinguished embassy to the pope explaining his posi- 
tion and his rights. This deputation consisted of 
some of the most learned persons m Bohemia, and 
was received by the pope at Anagni. 

No representations or remonstrances could shake the 
determination of Boniface ; and six months were al- 
lowed to both parties to present their claims at Rome. 
This ultimatum was disregarded, and at length on May 
31st, 1303, in full consistory, Queen Marie of Sicily 
and Carl Robert were declared to be the true and 
rightful heirs of the Hungarian throne, and its depend- 
encies; the people were required to swear allegiance 
to them; the election of Wenzel was pronounced a 
nullity; and his subjects absolved from all fidelity 
to him; and the perils of excommunication were 
threatened against all who should disobey. At the same 
time Albert and his son and his allies were required to 
support Carl Robert with all their power. War be- 
ing thus declared by the pope and his lieutenant the 
emperor, both sides made preparation for the inevita- 
ble strife. 

Boniface could not stimulate men to a crusade in 
one direction but he succeeded in another in the 
midst of profound peace. Albert was poor and was 
hated by the electors. He was almost without allies 
except the papal adherents and the partizans of Carl 
Robert. The Cumanian horse spread devastation on 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 315 

the lower Danube. The war varied in success during 
the summer of 1304. In September Albert encamped 
at Budiveis, and Rudolph and Carl Robert advanced to 
effect a junction with him. The object of this com- 
bination centered in the fortress of Kuttenberg with 
its mineral wealth. The place was gallantly defended 
by Henry of Lipa and John of Stratz. A pestilential 
disease naturally broke out among the besiegers and 
was a regular accompaniament of the vile habits of 
the hordes of barbarians who fought for Albert. The 
cause was attributed to poison poured into the stream, 
but no such explanation is necessary. The siege was 
abandoned after great loss to the imperialists. 

Albert endeavored to treat for peace but his propo- 
sals were disregarded, as his troops were mutinous for 
want of pay, and his cause was known to be despe- 
rate. Large numbers of mercenaries deserted him; and 
even Otto oi Brandenburg declared for the king of 
Bohemia. During the winter of 1304-5 active prep- 
aiations were made for the renewal of the contest 
next spring. The fatigues and exposure of campaign- 
ing, however, were too severe for the constitution of 
King Wenzel to endure. He was seized with a violent 
fever in the spring of 1305 and his death became a 
dail}' expectation. Calling his court and his family 
around him Wenzel expressed his dying wishes, and 
at length expired on the evening of the 2Tst of June 
at the early age of thirty-four. He left four children, 
Wenzel, Elizabeth and Margaret of his first marriage, 
and Agnes of the second. 

Wenzel was not a great prince; and it is was his mis- 
fortune to live in an age when the delusions of magic 
darkened the understanding of men not liber^sted from 
superstitious terror. The chief blame for the one 



3 1 6 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

deep act of treachery that stains his memory must 
rest chiefly with those who neglected and deluded 
him. Wenzel's untutored mind fell beneath the force 
of the prevailing sentiments; but his fall was an 
alarming symptom of the revolution in moral precept 
and principle that had been effected in the palace of 
Bohemia. 

To Wenzel belongs the honor of having conferred on 
Europe a silver coinage remarkable for size, purity, 
and beauty. The royal grosses, or groschen of Prague,* 
sixty of which were equivalent to a silver mark, and 
forty-eight to the light or Polish mark, became con- 
spicuous in every commercial city. But their excel- 
lence proved the cause of their discontinuance and 
disappearance. The coin of continental Europe was 
then shamefully debased. Bullion became much more 
valuable than the coin. Sovereigns endeavored to 
create money by adding to the number of pieces in the 
same amount of metal, and then of adulteration by 
excessive alloy, under the delusion that the name, 
and not the substance conferred purchasing power. 
Long was the pernicious delusion persisted in; and 
almost universal ruin resulted. France at that precise 
period presented an alarming example of the blight- 
ing force of this evil practice; and the good coin of 
Bohemifi disappeared in the mad debasement of the 
day. Under the belief that each coin could be ren- 
dered of three or fourfold value it was purchased, 
exported, melted down, and re-coined in base > form. 
Where this robbery is practiced in one country good 
money cannot possibly circulate in its neighborhood. 

Wenzel III. succeeded his father peaceabl}'. Albert 

* "A. D. 1301. In this year were coined the silver grosses or 
Groschen of Bohemia, then a powerful kingdom.'' Anderson's Hist, 
of Com. Sub. an. 1301. 



AFTER TEE DEATH OF OTAKAR 317 

discontinued military preparations; and quiet again 
reigned. In August 1305, Meissen was again dissevered 
from Bohemia and entrusted to John of Habsburg. 
The ban was withdrawn; and the king of Bohemia 
was confirmed in all his rights, titles and dignities to 
all the territories in Bohemia, Poland and elsewhere 
whether acquired by inheritance or otherwise.* 

All the late king's allies the dukes of Bavaria and 
Brandenburg, and all their dependents were included 
in this treaty. The territory of Eger was surrendered 
to Albert without much solicitation. On the 5th of 
October following the young king espoused Viola, 
daughter of Duke Messek of Teschen, a young lady 
remarkable for her beauty; and this event created 
general surprise not only from the obscurity of the 
ducal family, but on account of the palpable disregard 
of all engagements subsisting since 1298 between 
Wenzel and Elizabeth of Hungary. The explanation 
probably is that the gentleman really was attached to 
the lady he married; while the other had been se- 
lected for him when a child, and he felt in no degree 
attracted by her. 

Young Wenzel was neglected and fell rapidly into 
bad habits. Evidently his environment in the palace 
differed widely from the respect formerly paid to the 
reigning prince. The courtiers had been educated to 
transfer their interests and attentions elsewhere. In- 
toxication, dice-playing, sensuality and nightly ca- 
rousing with sons of nobles and oiher wild compan- 
ions filled Prague with anxiety. In his moments of 

* The official documents confirming the king in his rights; and the 
other withdrawing the ban are contained in Goldast, Appendix, XXV. 
and XXVI. The confirmation by Rudolph and by Adolphus are also 
there given. In these state papers Wenzel is repeatedly styled King 
of Bohemia and Poland. 



3 1 8 His TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

inebriety the king -was often induced to sign and seal 
important engagements and contracts transferring 
large sums of money to his dissolute companions, 
and the cheats who naturally surrounded him. His 
chancellor frequently refused payment of these 
notes, and the king's anger thereat became a constant 
menace agains this faithful servant. In his sober 
moments the king poured forth gratitude and compli- 
ments; but neither Queen Viola's influence nor a sense 
of dignity restrained the king's excesses. Under pres- 
ent influences the Przemysls had fallen very low. 

Perils in Poland aroused the king from his stupor. 
His lieutenants reported the urgent necessity of re in- 
forcements if the peace of the country must be 
maintained. With the consent of the estates prepara- 
tions were made for the pacification and defense of 
Poland, as a measure of self-protection at home. 

The king assembled his troops at Olmiitz, and en- 
gaged vigorously in his first campaign, and nominated 
his brother-in-law Henry of Carinthia lieutenant of 
the kingdom. On the 4th of August he sought repose 
in his chamber from the oppressive heat, and had com- 
pletely laid aside all armor, and even his other cloth- 
ing ; and while he slumbered — an assassin, Conrad of 
Bodenstein, entered the apartment and with three dag- 
ger strokes laid the king dead on the floor.* Loud 
and angry rose the indignation against the perpetra- 
tor of this dreadful deed, and calamitous results flowed 
from it to Bohemia. The last of the long line of 
her ancient dynasty had fallen beneath a murderer's 

* This is the tradition; but even contemporary chroniclers are not 
agreed as the real perpetrator of this great crime, nor for what pur- 
pose it was committed The only persons who derived benefit from 
it were the family of Austria. Popular belief long associated the 
crime with Albert's deliberate purposes. 



AFTER THE DEATH OF OTAKAR 319 

hand ] and the fate and fortune of the nation created 
intense alarm and confusion. The fixed rights, the 
firnn institutions, and the unfailing gallantry of Bohe- 
mia during eight hunderd years had constituted a 
strong barrier against the anarchy of the darkest ages. 
The manly independence and the solicitude for indi- 
vidual political rights always exhibited by the Bohe- 
mian people have rendered them the teachers of na- 
tions; and their principles and parliamentary consti- 
tution have gradually penetrated into every country 
under heaven. They protected and preserved the 
rights of men during long ages when those rights 
were elsewhere unknown or trampled down. Bohe-^ 
mia has been the birth place and the shelter of the 
modern politics of freedom; and she still demands 
from mankind a full restoration to herself, of all the 
rights, privileges and dignities which she preserved 
so long with her treasures and her blood for the eman- 
cipation of the world. 

On Wenzel III. had been lavished all the educa- 
tional advantages then within reach. He spoke Bo- 
hemian, Latin, Hungarian and German, readily and 
correctly. He possessed a good person and a generous 
disposition, but seems to have been totally neglected 
from the moment he became sovereign. The strong 
men of Bohemia had been replaced by ecclesiastics as 
councilors, and among these only one was found with 
the honesty or fidelity to counsel the generous and 
impulsive boy. The assumption of royal authority by 
legates and cardinals in that age and for centuries 
afterward was based on the principle of rendering the 
king a puppet or worse. "Ego et rex meus" was not 
only a boast but a principle. The vice of the de jure 
ruler transferred power to confessors and chancellors. 



3 2d HIS TOR Y OF B OH EMI A 

It is easy in such cases and as idle as it is easy to con 
derpn the sovereign. One man, however excellent, 
can do little if a thousand pulpits thunder adversely; 
in an ingorant age the reasonable appeal of the civil 
ruler who represents penalty as well as dignity is of 
trifling weight beside the exhortation of the priest 
who assumes to represent the illimitable favor of 
heaven. Where the mind of a whole people is de- 
voted to fantasies and divinations the wholesome 
truths of practical knowledge seem insipid. The intoxi- 
cation of miracle abolishes reason, and a wonder- 
worker appeals at once to imagination and credulity. 
One tempest of popular frenzy toward the idol of an 
hour claiming superhuman virtues will sweep away for 
years, perhaps for generations, the laborious efforts of 
the most accomplished educator to create appreciation 
of real knowledge. The later sovereigns including 
Wenzel I. had witnessed this conflict in Bohemia. 
From about A. D. 722 to 1306 the Przemysls had 
reigned in Bohemia always with distinction, fre- 
quently in celebrity and splendor. Modern history 
fails to produce another dynasty equally continuous 
in one family. Their rule was contemporary with all 
the struggles, and formative efforts that have eventu- 
ated in the establishment of existing European na- 
tions. Their history and their glory were observed 
by all men, and the institutions they represented were 
known, were studied, and at last as opportunity exist- 
ed were imitated and extended. The classes of govern- 
ing agencies that have ruled mankind, kings, nobles, 
parliaments have always observed and imitated each 
other. The fashion of court ceremonial, the courtesies 
of courtier life, the chivalry of warrior kings, were 
closely studied and faithfully reported. The political 



AFTEk THE DEATtI OPOTAKAR 32 i 

condition and the formal institutions of all European 
states were thoroughl}' known to each other, and po- 
litical vicissitudes were announced with a wonderful 
celerity. The institutions of Bohemia exerted an in- 
fluence that can be observed only in struggles to imi- 
tate her that marked the popular movements of neigh- 
boring lands. The barons under King John who pre- 
served national rights and principles by the evidences 
of Magna Chartas sustained indeed the supremacy of 
English law; but they were themselves powerfully up- 
held by the example of Bohemia where the prince was 
the elected ruler, and he was bound by his oath of 
office to preserve the national freedom. Golden Bulls 
were formulated under the same influences; and the 
spirit that kept alive' Bohemian institutionalism fed 
the fire of the same worship on the political altars of 
all self-constituted nationalities. The king, lords and 
commons; the king, nobles and vladykas, represent- 
ing precisely the same classes, but far more completely 
in Bohemia than in England until 1832, upheld the 
same elements and have transmitted the same rights 
to all generations of men. 

Not a little remarkable is it that the formal appli- 
cation of the claims of all ranks to a voice in the pub- 
lic counsels in parliament was proclaimed in England 
at the time when tendencies toward the depression of 
it became apparent in the sister state. At the mo- 
ment when the last Przemysl fell beneath the assassin's 
stroke, and the ancient system he represented was in 
danger of being crushed, and obliterated in its own 
birthplace, the union of all ranks in the national curia 
in England had acquired sufficient consolidation and 
self-assertion to maintain itself against all intrusion 
and encroachment. The voice that had for centuries 



322 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

been heard on the Moldau and the Elbe was now 
heard and heeded on the Thames. 



CHAPTER XV. 

INTERNAL COMMOTIONS TO THE DEATH OF KING JOHN. 

The period that we have now reached constitutes 
the convulsive period in Bohemian history. 

The two great factors that form national life, religion 
and politics — then experienced in all European 
countries additional expansive force, and fresh ob- 
structions. Former elements in religious and politi- 
cal thought in Bohemia, released from much of the 
dynastic opposition that had hitherto resisted them, 
now felt relieved; and forthwith demanded pre-emi- 
nence. The old religion and the old political basis 
had to a great extent been replaced by these recently 
introduced; but both lived in the heart of the nation. 
The spirit of autocracy now acquired new force and 
was often asserted with increased vehemence. In each 
the substitution of the exotic for the indigenous created 
collisions. This fact in each case is precisely the 
object that the detractors of Bohemia have most dili- 
gently labored to suppress. The purpose is evident 
— to represent the Bohemians as rebels in each in- 
stance. Henceforth the struggle on the part of the 
people was for their own; the effort of their enemies 
has been to represent the new as the native and 
resistance to it as treason. 

During the thirteenth century the general revival of 
interest in literature, and hence also the general wel- 
fare of all classes, introduced a freedom of discussion 

323 



324" HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

on all topics then utterly at variance with the vehe- 
ment repressive system that prevailed. Multitudes of 
persons demanded reforms in every department of 
public life ; in the church, in civil government, in 
public morals, in the status of the poor, in education, 
in general relief from feudal oppression. Mighty 
minds engaged in vehement discussions and promoted 
the spirit of controversy. Old philosophies were fur- 
bished up and made to shine like recent revelations. 
The works of Aristotle formed a mine of wealth for all 
declaimers on Christian doctrines as well as on philo- 
sophical disquisitions. The reconciliation of religion 
with science became the objective point of universi- 
ties, and the theme of brilliant expounders. 

The efforts of earnest ecclesiastics also for reform of 
life and manners first inside the church and then out- 
side, that had been noticed and encouraged for centuries, 
had created a disrespect to the church and doubts of 
her doctrines that had spread widel}' since early cen- 
turies. The debates of the doctors whether "most 
lucid," "irrefragable," "seraphic," or "angelic" were 
imitated in every congregation of men. During the 
tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries these discussions 
had gradually eventuated in the formation of very 
numerous communities who believed what seemed to 
them the true revelation, and applied to this faith 
observances suited to it. The church itself about this 
time greatly promoted this independent spirit and 
practice. The Dominicans and Franciscans quarreled 
and denounced each other. The Franciscans then dis- 
agreed on the subject of private property ; and finally 
became separated into two opposing and hostile fac- 
tions. To extract the mystic meaning of the Bible 
seemed the object of all parties. The spirit thus tp 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 325 

investigate and interpret and plunge into mysticism 
spread widely. Most subtle and ingenious controver- 
sies racked the brains of most earnest men. The com- 
munities now external to the church abandoned these 
disquisitions. They believed there was "much humanity 
in man;" and endeavored to cultivate the good 
material at hand. The efforts of these persons were 
directed to the practical amelioration of conduct, the 
inculcation of a respect for truth, morality, and piety, 
the purity of life and manners by appeals to the better 
emotions of the human soul in connection with what 
they deemed the early, simple, and pure simplicity of 
Christian instruction. Unnecessary here to recapitu- 
late the sufferings of these persons, in many cases 
before but chiefly after the calamitous epoch of 1215. 
The Albigenses expelled from Languedoc* fled to 
every country that would shelter them. This circum- 
stance materially concerns the story of Bohemia, The 
greater number found refuge in Poland, Hungary, 
Servia, Dalmatia and Bohemia. 

Western Europe as yet exercised very imperfect 
control over the interior of these countries; and the 
refugees long found security and prosperity The 
divisions among the Franciscans — at first known as 
Fraterculif — or Fratricelli on the subject of the own- 
ership of property, and the rise of the spiritualist 
party, resulted in their adoption of the doctrines of 
Joachim of Flora in Calabria, and the formation of an 
independent community who repudiated the church. 
* Generally called previously Albigensium. 

f Fratres Minores a title they still retain. Any distinctive title by 
which men or women obtain a mark to distinguish them is a badge of 
pride, and conceit, It distinguishes them. The humble mind will go 
on its way without seeking to attract attention. The bonnets of quak- 
eresses and nuns are in the highest degree marks of pride that seeks 
remark. 



326 HISTORY OF BO HE Ail A 

All these experiences encourged the free inquirers in 
Bohemia, Poland, Hungary and Slavonia. 

During these controversies which culminated about 
A. D. 1250, the investigating spirit that the rival 
theologians had fostered exhibited itself in a very great 
enlargement and wide diffusion of separatist com- 
munities, principally that of the "Brethren and Sisters 
of the Free Spirit." The sect became exceedingly 
numerous in France, Germany, Italy, Bohemia, Poland 
and Hungary.* They were morally supported by the 
Fraticelli, Begewer or Beghards and Beguinoe, that is 
Praying men and Praying women, a very pious and 
popular society that had existed at Vilvorden in Bra- 
. bant since early in the eleventh century, and probably 
much earlier. Many varieties of belief, and not a few- 
most unseemly practices have been attributed to all 
these societies; but all their enemies agree that by a 
"seeming piety" they drew to them large numbers; and 
that their principles and their efforts were directed 
to the eradication of evil propensities which they 
declared man}^ of themselves had acquired power com- 
pletely to subdue. By some these societies were 
named Lollards, f and in many districts they were 
named indiscriminately Fraticelli. In Poland and 
Bohemia these people were extremely numerous; and 
preponderated in many parts of Hungary. Not sur- 
prising then that the legate Nicholas was expelled 
ignominiously from Raab, Gran and Ofen in 1302. 
He had published an order against the Waldensian 

* See Uhlman "Reformers before the Reformation," and Gieseler, 
Eccles. Hist. 

f Lallen-wehr — speakers of mysticisms; or possibly from the low 
soft voice in which they chanted when carrying the dead during the 
plague in Antwerp in 1300 when an organization of Lallen-wehr was 
formed to visit the sick and bury the dead. On such occasions were 
beat tom toms through crowded streets. 



TO THE DEA TH OF KING JOHN 327 

refugees in those places; but as they formed the 
majority of the population, they went unharmed for a 
time. In Bohemia the prevailing sentiments were 
those of the Waldenses proper. These persons had 
never seceded from the church; but they sought to 
reform its doctrines and practices, and to restore the 
primitive simplicity. They declaimed against eccle- 
siastical pomp and power, against confessions, indul- 
gences, prayers for the dead. They asserted the 
equality of all Christians in the right of instruction 
and admonition in a proper spirit. Their lives were 
correct; and the sermon on the mount was literally 
interpreted. They objected to capital punishments 
and war. Two sacraments were by them sacredly 
retained; and especial importance was attached to the 
complete observance of the Eucharist supper as orig- 
inally instituted. The cup was therefore demanded by 
all Waldenses and the right to partake under both 
kinds, as Christ and his apostles had done, and 
according to the mandate — "Drink ye all of it, for this 
is my blood of the New Testament" — became the cen- 
tral doctrine of their church. In fact the celebrated 
phrase "Sub utraque, " that subsequently became a 
state designation, was literally obtained from the 
Waldenses. So great importance was attached to this 
sacrament that it was administered every week, and 
even young children became participants. 

During the entire course of this thirteenth century a 
very strong anti-sacerdotal spirit prevailed in Europe. 
This feeling became intensified by the orders of men- 
dicant friars. The idleness, rapacity and vices of 
these men created constant irritation and complaint.* 

* That the crusading spirit of the day plundered families for the 
purpose of erecting religious houses is too well authenticated for dis- 
pute. The extensive establishment of Konegsfelden contained at the 



328 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

During the same period the crusading spirit fre- 
quently made itself felt; and was now directed and 
preached against heretics as well as against Saracens. 
So long as Bohemia, Poland and Hungary continued 
to be the centers of native sovereignties based on 
local constitutions refugees were secure. But when- 
ever a candidate appeared who would bargain for 
deeper submission to Roman dictation in return for 
Roman votes, that candidate called forth all the force 
of civil and ecclesiastical crusading. The most re- 
cent instance we have seen in Carl Robert in Hun- 
gary. 

The assassination of Wenzel HI. created a splendid 
opportunity for the exercise of this policy in Bohemia. 
Albert's first act on hearing of the fall of Wenzel was 
to publish a decree claiming Bohemia as a reverted 
fief. His chief supporter was Tobias of Bechin, whose 
office corresponded to that of chief baron of the ex- 
chequer in England, in so far as concerned the super- 
vision of the royal revenues from the public domains 
and burg rents. Albert received constant information 
from this officer of the state of affairs, and depended 
on his counsel and influence. The principal digni- 
taries of the state, under the guidance of Henry of 
Carinlhia, who had become the actual ruler on the 
death of Wenzel, at once summoned a parliament at 
Prague for the discharge of the ancient duties and 
exercise of the ancient prerogative of the estates on 
the demise of the sovereign. As soon as Albert be- 
came advised of this proceeding through his agent 
Tobias, an imperial rescript conferred the crown on 
Rudolph, eldest son of the emperor, by alleged right 

same time an order of Minorites, and a nunnery of the St. Clare 
order. The convent was secularized at the Reformation and is now 
a mad-house. 



TO THE DEATH OF KING JOHN 329 

of suzerainty over a lapsed fief. The imperial 
authority, however, had never advanced — except on 
one occasion, so far as to claim more than the right 
of homage of the king of Bohemia when elected by the 
estates. Parliament proceeded calmly to discharge its 
duties. The great day of Kulm, February 18, 1126, 
M^as probably not forgotten. The "Golden bulls" of 
Frederic II. of 1212 and 1216, declare in substance that 
whoever shouldreceivethe electoral vote of the estates 
should be welcomed by the emperor, and his successors, 
as the person entitled to receive the royal dignities 
after the accustomed ceremonial*. 

An affecting scene presented itself during the debates 
when the princesses Margaret and Elizabeth appeared 
before the estates, and in most supplicating posture, 
kneeling before the assembly, entreated the perpetua- 
tion of the royal rights of their father's dynasty in the 
persons of his daughters now that the male line had 
become extinct. 

Imperial rescripts purporting to confer this right on 
the female line were produced; but their force was 
nullified by the hesitancy of the members to recognize 
their genuineness. Albert and Rudolph adopted most 
persuasive means to influence votes. Cotnmands and 
expostulations, menaces and entreaties, presents and 
promises were all employed. Opinions were divided. 
Some believed that as Rudolph was already lord of 
Austria and Styria, the union of Bohemia and Moravia 
under his sway would restore Bohemian pre-eminence 
as in the days of Otakar II. Others professed ap- 
prehension of the growing power of the house of 

* Quicunque ab ipsis in Regem electus fuerit, ad nos vel successores 
nostros accedat, regalia debito modo accepturus." Tliese important 
documents have been preserved in full but are too lengthy for inser- 
tion here. See Goldast. 



330 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Habsburg; while others again suggested a marriage 
alliance between Rudolph, now a widower and one of 
the royal princesses. The other chief claimant was 
Henry of Carinthia but his influence rapidly declined. 
Still more imposing and possibly convincing argu- 
ments consisted in the armed forces which the emperor 
and his son marched into Bohemia, in opposite direc- 
tions. After an understanding had been reached that 
Rudolph should espouse a royal princess the estates 
formally declared him king, October 8th, 1306. 

A few nobles of Henry of Carinthia's party forth- 
with quitted the country. Albert and Rudolph entered 
Prague," accompanied by a splendid retinue. The 
new king espoused Elizabeth of Poland, widow of 
Wenzel H. on the 26th of December* following ; and 
the event was celebrated by a succession of festivals 
of the most elaborate and imposing character. 

Albert's next proceeding was directed to a confir- 
mation of the royal succession in his own family in 
case of failure of Rudolph's direct line. The Bohe- 
mian and Moravian estates the more readily assented 
to this proposal as their policy traced out for them 
not only the perpetual union of Austria and Styria 
with their own kingdom, but the selection of a royal 
dynasty that should unite the privileges of the nation 
with a regularit}' of succession. The proposal was 
therefore solemnly, although with some incautious con- 
cessions accepted and confirmed. The fief of Bohemia 
was therefore conferred on Rudolph in December fol- 
lowing at Vienna; and the succession was established 
in the line of his brothers on failure of his own, as 
the chief condition of his tenure. f 

* According to other authorities, October 16th, 1306. 

f On all these events consult Kurtz "Oisterreich unter Otakar und 
Albrecht." 



TO THE DEATH OF KING JOHN 331 

ft 

At this juncture Bohemia was not an inheritance to 
be protected but a property to be employed for the 
personal benefit of the proprietor. Rudolph became 
speedily a mere instrument in the hands of his father. 
Bohemia was compelled to expend her treasures for 
imperial purposes to an extent far beyond her legiti- 
mate obligations. A thousand marks in silver every 
week were exacted from the mines of Kuttenberg on 
pretense of paying the public creditors. Heavy taxes 
also were imposed on the nation. Local prejudices 
and customs were disregarded. The churches were 
stripped of their ornaments; and even the shrines were 
despoiled of costly furniture and relics.* The spirit 
of discontent and revolt spread rapidly, and a large 
party in the nation openly resisted. Rudolph levied 
forces, and reduced some fortresses of his opponents. 
But at the siege of Horaz-diovice, a castle belonging 
to a noble of the party of Henry of Carinthia, he 
was seized with a mortal illness caused by camp 
dysentery, and died in July, 1307, at the age of 
twenty two. 

Again after a brief interval the estates were con- 
vened for the election of a sovereign. Frederic the 
Handsome of Austria was presented on the part of the 
Habsburg dynasty. The president of this diet was 
Tobias of Bechin, still the supporter of Albert. But 
Henry of Carinthia was assisted by a powerful faction. 
Tobias formally advocated the claims of Frederic; 
whereupon the assembly exclaimed "We will have no 

* The tone of mind in which prominent occurrences were viewed, 
and which may well be suspected of having given rise to public events 
of magnitude, may be understood from the complaint that God short- 
ened Rudolph's days because he removed from Prague the head of St. 
Margaret and some vestments and gifts. The transition from this 
feeling to the assassination of the person who did such things is easily 
perceptible. 



332 HTSTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Austrian for king." Tobias tauntingly replied, "If you 
will have a native king go again to the village of 
Stadice; you will probably find a peasant there of the 
royal line; bring him hither and marry him to the 
widowed queen." A tumult followed this mockery; 
and Ulrich of Lichtenburg ran his sword through the 
body of the offending speaker, exclaiming, "Learn, 
Tobias, how we deal with those who would impose on 
us as rulers strangers and the murderers of our kings. " 
Several other partizans of Frederic fell almost imme- 
diately; and on the 15th of August the election of 
Henry of Carinthia, who had been invited to assume 
the regency, took place with but little opposition. 

Albert felt keenly the rejection of his dynasty by 
Bohemia; and prepared to inflict vengeance on that 
country. His power, however, was not equal to his 
purposes. Although fortunate in obtaining some small 
acquisitions, all his great projects failed. His friend 
Boniface VIH. died in madness in 1303, unable to 
endure his fall from boundless pretensions to mockery, 
imprisonment, and threat of death at the instance of 
Philip the Fair. He was defeated in Thuringia, 
driven out of Hungary where he supported the papal 
party, and humiliated in the forest cantons of Switzer- 
land. The loss of Bohemia appeared likely to over- 
whelm his house, especially as he had alienated and 
provoked his nephew, John of Habsburg, direct heir 
to the possessions in Switzerland, Swabia and Alsace, 
by vexations and disingenuous refusals of confirmation 
in his inheritance. This conduct was the more odious 
as Albert held these territories only by right of guar- 
dianship over his nephew. Although Albert marched 
against Prague, besieged Kolin and Kuttenburg, and 
devastated the open country, he was compelled hastily 



TO THE DEATH OF KING JOHN 333 

to retreat, leaving garrisons in Konigratz, Chrudim 
and one or two other fortresses. No better success 
attended him in Swabia where a greater danger threat- 
ened. His expedition against Zurich was fresh in 
men's memory; and the populations entertained a 
sentiment of fierce hatred against him on account of 
the severe exactions and extortions of his lieutenants. 
The Moravian estates had exhibited an inclination to 
favor the cause of the Habsburg dynasty; but the 
presence of foreign garrisons, and the strong public 
sentiment in neighboring states effected a revolution 
of feeling in favor of the party of Henry. 

During the winter the garrisons of Konigratz and 
Chrudim harrassed the surrounding districts and added 
another degree to the intense bitterness against Albert. 
Some parties of the Swabian and Alsace troops, who 
constituted these garrisons, ventured into the open 
country, but were cut to pieces by the assembled 
peasantry. This ill-success, and the general hostility 
emboldened young John of Habsburg, surnamed 
"Duke Lackland," in his schemes of vengeance. 
Associating himself with some Swabian knights he 
awaited his opportunity. The patriots in Uri, 
Schwitz, and Unterwalden, under Furst, Milchtal, and 
Staffacher, completed their organization to resist 
Albert's encroachments, and on the 13th of January 
1308, the signal of revolt was given. The imperial 
governors were expelled, their castles seized, and the 
entire population openly revolted against the house of 
Austria. Albert therefore proposed to postpone his 
meditated invasion of Bohemia and Thuringia, and 
prepared to direct his whole strength against the 
Swiss. His consort Elizabeth had assembled a strong 
force at Rheinfelden, and Albert accompanied by a 



334 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

numerous escort advanced toward that place. At 
Baden prince John demanded possession of his inheri- 
tance situated there, and in the adjoining counties. 
Albert presented to him a chaplet of flowers, saying 
that it was more suited to his years than the cares of 
government. John became indignant; and at once 
prepared to execute his project of vengeance in com- 
pany with Walter of Eschenbach his tutor, Rodolph 
of Wart, Rodolph of Balm, and Conrad of Tegelfeld, 
all men of considerable possessions in that neighbor- 
hood who probably owed a fealty of some kind to John. 
Having reached the Reuss opposite Windisch, the 
conspirators passed over; and Albert followed with one 
attendant, leaving the rest of his train on the other 
side. As he rode slowly forward over the nelds at 
the foot of the height crowned by the ancestral castle 
of Habsburg, he was suddenly assailed by the con- 
spirators. John demanded "Will you now restore my 
inheritance?" and wounded the emperor in the neck. 
"How long is this corpse to ride?" exclaimed von 
Wart. "Do your purpose," shouted John, and von 
Balm and von Wart struck Albert simultaneously on 
the head, while John himself stabbed him in the back. 
The emperor expired on the road in the arms of a 
poor old woman, almost in sight of his son Leopold. 
Albert was a severe, unscrupulous man. He did not 
hesitate to meet crime with crime; and when re- 
proached with being in the pay of France replied, 
"That is no reproach, for was not Adolph in that of 
England?" He advanced his family interests with a 
callous pertinacity. Uncouth in appearance, and fierce 
in aspect, cold, calculating and gloomy. Albert had 
some qualities that became an emperor. His military 
talents were considerable and his tendency to central- 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 335 

ization rendered him a vigorous champion of order 
and subordination among all ranks in the empire. His 
rule was arrogant in spirit and harsh in method; and 
his promptitude and decision rendered him both feared 
and hated. Albert first adopted a uniform for his 
knights, each of whom had previously, as elsewhere 
in Europe, adopted a cognizance of his own. The 
establishment of distinct regiments in modern cavalry 
is due to this circumstance.* 

After Albert's death duke Frederic sustained the 
Habsburg party; and as he commanded garrisons 
already in possession of strong places, and could have 
procured additional forces by the aid of his brothers, 
a desultory war might have ensued. But the rival 
princes Henry and Frederic in a personal interview 
at Znaim established peace on the basis of a payment 
of forty-five thousand marks to the Austrian claimant 
for the renunciation of his pretensions. In return for 
this sum he pledged himself to renounce all claim to 
the cities, towns, fortresses and territory in Bohemia, 
Moravia, Carinthia, Carniola, and the Wendish March. 
Payment was promised within two years, and several 
places were allowed to remain in Frederic's possession 
as security. The queen dowager, Elizabeth of Poland, 
resumed her residence on her dower territory, chiefly 
at Gratz, henceforward known as Kaenig-gin-gratz, or 
briefly Konigratz. 

Henry of Carinthia now peaceably installed as king 
might have succeeded in his task had he possessed ex- 
perience, or weight of character. His position as a 

* Dante, a contemporary and an acute observer of public affairs 
places Albert in purgatory. 

O Alberto Tedesco, c'abbandoni 

Costei ch 'e fatta indomita e selvaggia, etc. 

DelPurg., c. VI. 



336 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

foreigner rendered him diffident. He could not rule 
over Bohemians with the self-assertion of a native 
prince. He could not sa}', "Ego Przemysl" and then 
smite with the fist of Przemysl. Dwelling in the 
midst of riches Henry was extremely poor through 
constant subsidies to allies, and clamorous creditors. 
His anger was impotent, and his favor a tenderness. 
The authority of the crown became relaxed, and the 
country sank into disorder. The position of King 
Consort is extremely difficult, and few have filled the 
position successfully. Where the ruler and his people 
have been hewn out of the same block there exists a 
continuity of substance and of grain. Each has a right 
to deal with the other as with a nature akin, and per- 
fectly capable of forming a correct estimate. But if the 
two are united only by a political solder no great 
strain is necessary to dissever them. The experiment 
of elevating an alien king even over a willing people 
is always delicate, frequently perilous, and at times 
disastrous, as Bohemia well knows to her cost. The 
Bohemians rejected female rule in the belief that only 
a strong hand could wield the sceptre. They had a 
strong hand in Otakar and they conspired against it; 
they had a weak hand in Henry and they despised it. 
They had felt many strong hands before the days of 
Otakar and they loved them, and fought and bled for 
them. A dissevering and antagonizing influence had 
arisen. A genius not of the nation had become fixed 
in the land. The unbroken continuity of religious, 
political, and even national feeling had ceased. The 
substance that formed the nation was fractured in 
many places. Homage was demanded and paid to a 
power far outside Bohemia, one which claimed the 
highest reverence of fealty known to the soul, and this 



TO THE DBA T'H OF KING JOHN 337 

influence was unceasingly exercised in every house- 
hold. Under its penetrating force combined govern- 
ment was fast becoming impossible, unless when com- 
pletely merged in the foreign influence itself. But 
when at length the great body of the nation united in 
one strong sentiment of religious and political prin- 
ciple, and was ruled by the great motive resulting 
from this union, the resulting force became terrible, 
and for a period irresistible. Under Henry the 
elements of the national life were agitated, disunited, 
discordant, and not every man perceived the disinte- 
grating and fatal cause. 

Another indication and effect of the strange revolu- 
tion that had silently been effected in local adminis- 
tration is perceptible in the contentions that divided 
the citizen or burgher communities from the barons 
in 1309. Complaints arose from Prague, Kuttenberg, 
and other cities that their interests and their property 
were sacrificed by the nobles, and that the latter 
enriched themselves out of the wealth of the 
country by monopolizing all administrative offices. 
These grievances resulted in an organized assault on 
some of the principal officers of the crown who were 
assembled at Kuttenberg. The latter were seized by 
the angry citizens, fettered, and imprisoned. The 
affair was adjusted without much disturbance; but by 
a formal compromise the burgher interests were hence- 
forward protected by an admission of their order 
through representatives into the administrative 
councils. 

Henry's weakness and unpopularity afforded occa- 
sion for renewed display of nationalist sentiment. A 
party of the nobility led by Henry of Lipa, the gallant 
defender of Kuttenberg and John of Wartenberg 



338 * HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

united their influence with the citizens and endeav- 
ored to overthrow the royal authority. Their party 
took possession of Prague and erected strong fortifica- 
tions at each end of the bridge. The king invited 
help from abroad and Otto of Bavaria and Everard of 
Wirtemberg marched to his assistance. Henry 
welcomed and assisted them; but after their departure 
their officers and troops were displaced. The clerical 
party at once commenced a serious agitation in favor 
of the election of a new sovereign. 

Through the intrigue of Peter von Aspelt, arch- 
bishop of Mayence, the German throne had been 
secured for Henry of Luxembourg, who assumed the title 
of Henry Vn. The election was held November 27th, 
1308, under a walnut tree on the Konigstuhl at Reuse, 
a point on the Rhine near Braubach where a blast of a 
hunting horn could be heard in the dominions of four 
electors. This choice was a declaration of hostility 
to Philip of France, and his anti-papal policy. The 
royal crown alone could be employed in the ceremony, 
for the iron crown of Lombardy and the imperial 
crown were still in Italy. Henry was known to fame 
as the best knight in the lists, and possessed a ster- 
ling judgment. To Henry the Bohemians now appealed 
in their perplexity. The princess Elizabeth had been 
detained under surveillance, and fears were felt or 
pretended that the king purposed to force her into a 
mesalliance in order to exclude her from the suc- 
cession. Elizabeth, however, effected her escape, 
roused the people to rebellion, secured several towns, 
and eventually appealed to Henry VII. in person. 
The archbishop of Mayence pleaded on behalf of the 
princess, an exceedingly politic proceeding, and the 
new emperor gave his promise that his royal suppliant 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 339 

and no other should become queen of Bohemia. 

Henry speedily gave proof that Bohemia, as well as 
the other territories subject to him, might expect a sov- 
ereign very different from the last. His position in re- 
lation to the house of Habsburg was full of difficulty. 
The interests of their house were chiefly represented by 
Leopold and Frederic, the latter a mild conciliatory 
person, tall, well proportioned and handsome, the 
former diminutive and deformed, and of a fiery im- 
patient temper. The Austrians had not yet become 
accustomed to their rule; and the death of Albert 
became the signal for an insurrection in Vienna that 
was quelled only by the most horrible punishments, 
many of the citizens being deprived of sight, and 
others mutilated in various ways. The emperor re- 
leased the peasants of Uri, Unterwald and Schwitz 
from Habsburg rule, and placed them under the direct 
jurisdiction of the crown. Henry also put the mur- 
derers of the late emperor out of the ban. A solemn 
funeral service was held, by imperial order, at Spires 
where the remains of Adolph and Albert were interred, 
A. D. 1309. There were present the widows of both 
deceased emperors, Elizabeth of Nassau who had 
vainly pleaded on her knees to Albert for her son 
Ruprecht who had been taken prisoner in the battle 
where Adolph fell, Elizabeth of Habsburg and her 
daughter Agnes. Frederic was also present and after 
much disputation the territories appertaining to each 
party were mutually guaranteed. How different all 
this from the elective principle of Bohemia. 

Henry's position necessitated resistance to the 
popular demands of Bohemia. The malcontents de- 
spatched an embassy to the diet at Spires in 1309. 
Henry resolved to crush the movement and concluded 



340 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

an arrangement with Frederic of Austria, by which 
the latter undertook an expedition against Bohemia, 
in consideration of acknowledgment as marquis of 
Moravia for a payment of fifty thousand marks. The 
constitution of Bohemia suffered another fracture. 

Henry of Carinthia aggravated the cause of com- 
plaint against him by inviting a foreign re-inforce- 
ment under Conrad and Henry of Ausenstein. These 
troops regarded the country as a conquered province 
and created exasperation. 

Thus the unhappy land became torn by the dissen- 
sions between the partizans of Elizabeth and of the 
king, the latter reduced in strength and numbers 
until they occupied only the citadel of the capital. 

In this posture of affairs the estates assembled at 
Prague for the purpose of deputing a formal embassy 
to the emperor, and offering the crown to his son 
John with the hand of the princess Elizabeth. This 
deputation reached the court at Frankfort July 12, 
1310. The emperor at first suggested his brother 
Walram, as a mature man, a knight who could ride 
and rule. "My son," he added, "is only a child; and 
"woe to the land whose king is a child!"* The mem- 
bers of the embassy "had been instructed" for John, 
as they hoped that since Elizabeth was already of 
their party, her youthful husband, even when invested 
with kingly dignity would also prove sufificiently com- 
plaisant. The emperor observed caution; and at a 
private interview required the chief spokesmen of the 
party, abbots Henry of Sedlec and Conrad of Konig- 
saal, to state to him with candor whether the offer of 
the crown now made could be depended on as expres- 

* See Book of Proverbs "Woe to the land whose king is a child and 
whose princes feast in the morning." 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 341 

sive of the wish of the nation, and as likely to pro- 
mote internal peace. Twelve days later a formal diet 
of the empire brought together the ecclesiastical and 
civic dignitaries of the realm. The Bohemian em- 
bassy presented their request in full court under the 
speakership of Conrad of Konigsaal. The diet pro- 
nounced the ban of the empire against Henry of 
Carinthia, absolved his subjects from all allegiance, 
and deprived him of his crown on the ground of 
having seized a fief of the empire without authority.* 
Another fracture in the Bohemian constitution. The 
emperor's assent to the election of his son John con- 
firmed the full understanding that a marriage should 
be celebrated as soon as possible between the prince 
and the princess Elizabeth. f 

Bohemia made preparations to enable Elizabeth to 
present herself at court in fitting splendor. Costly 
presents arrived from all sides, the most valuable 
being made by the bishop! The cortege proceeded on 
its way amid the jeers of the Carinthian party. The 
princess was received by the emperor at the convent 
of the Knights Templars at Haimbach; and joj^ously 
welcomed by Margaret of Brabant, the empress, and 
Beatrice of Avesnes the emperor's mother. The court 
soon returned to Spires, and John did homage for his 
new kingdom, taking the oath and receiving investi- 
ture. The royal marriage followed and the event was 
celebrated with festival and tournament. 

* Goldast Comment. Lib. IV.; c. IX. S. 16. 

f Chroniclers narrate that the suggestion of this marriage was made 
toHenry by Elizabeth herself; and that he was offended thereat; but be- 
ing assured of the innocence of the princess, and of oriental etiquette in 
such matters, his good opinion was restored. Court rules required 
that the princess, having been born in a higher station than John, 
should make the suggestion, as in a well known instance in recent 
days in the English court. 



342 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

During the following September three armies marched, 
one to conduct Henry into Italy, the second to chastise 
Eberhard of Wirtemberg who had been escorted to 
the diet by two hundred knights and had there set the 
emperor at defiance, the third to establish John in 
Bohemia. Henry of Carinthia had obtained strong 
reinforcements from Frederic of Meissen ; and prepared 
for a vigorous resistance in Prague. The citizens 
favored Elizabeth and John, and easily established 
communications with them in secret. The formal 
siege began in November but the invaders made little 
progress. Strong towers and ramparts covered by 
wide and deep ditches defended the city. The intense 
cold induced many to insist on a retreat. But the 
archbishop of Mayence declared that he would pros- 
ecute the siege if it rained spears like snow flakes 
from heaven. Berenger, chaplain of Queen Elizabeth, 
effected a parley, and became intermediary. By signal 
from the great clock the citizens rushed to the gate 
next the enemy, broke it down and at once admitted 
the besiegers. During the night of December gth, 
Henry and his queen retired to their own estates; and 
the dynasty of Luxembourg became firmly established 
on the throne of Bohemia. 

The estates assembled at Prague on Christmas day 
following; and there the ancient rights and privileges 
of Bohemia were confirmed by royal ordinance in the 
most formal and solemn manner. 

The edict expressing this confirmation of national 
right constitutes a Magna Charta of Bohemia. Like 
its great English prototype, it did not originate any 
principle of law, much less of national custom; but 
it retained and re-affirmed the laws of antiquity as they 
had existed before the broken history of a century had 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 343 

created disorganization both in national progress and 
the national constitution. 

The first article promises strict maintenance of the 
rights that inhabitants had held from antiquity. 

The next regulated the circumstances requiring 
military services, and dispensing with personal attend- 
ance outside the realm except voluntary or for pay. 

The assessment of imposts is then arranged. The 
great taxes called "berna," are henceforth only to be 
assessed for a coronation, or a royal marriage, and the 
ratio is fixed. 

Inheritance is extended to the female line even to 
the fourth degree of consanguinity. 

Foreigners are strictly excluded from official posi- 
tions; and if any such persons should acquire estates 
by purchase, marriage or in any other manner, they 
are required to sell them to a native born within a 
year, or such possessions should at once belong to the 
next heir. 

This brief epitome will afford a view of the general 
nature of this famous edict. Its character is strictly 
local and administrative; and it contains few if any 
great principles such as have distinguished the great 
English charter. Nothing is found in it similar to 
the "nee super eum ibimus ;" or the "per judicium 
pari'um suorum, vel per legem terrae," except in terms 
very general, and requiring explanation from other 
sources. It is directed against administrative abuses 
that had arisen ; and it is not a re-assertion, or 
enumeration of specific rights or customs. 

But the document formed a most important ex- 
pression of the principles on which the Luxembourg 
dynasty established their government; and contains 
concessions, and sentiments, as well as administrative 



344 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

S3'stems which never could have been wrung from the 
Habsburgs. A sentiment of justice breathes all 
through it, and a disposition to do what seemed to 
be right and consonant to national character and 
habits is equally palpable. To all appearance a new 
era had begun. 

The coronation took place in February 1311, at 
Prague ; and the affairs of Moravia at once engaged 
the attention of the new sovereign, or rather of the 
new administration. Henry VII. had nominated the 
archbishop of Mayence, and Count Berthold von 
Henneberg as regents during the king's minority j and 
the ambitious and restless character of the former 
rendered him substantially sole ruler. The towns that 
the princess Elizabeth had delivered to the Austrians, 
presumably in accordance with the stipulations of the 
treaty with Frederic surrendered on favorable con- 
ditions, and internal homogeneity was restored. The 
Austrian duke had already received twenty thousand 
marks for services which were not required; and he 
seems now to have extorted a larger sum for the 
relinquishment of his claims to Moravia of which he 
possess i not even the equity of redemption. A royal 
progress through Moravia was followed by the happiest 
results; and recent lines of division became obliter- 
ated. The Moravian estates assembled in June to com- 
plete the pacification. An edict as liberal and as 
equitable as its predecessor confirmed the rights and 
privileges of the province; and a proclamation of 
general amnest}' encouraged and invited homage now 
freely rendered. 

During these proceedings a negotiation had been 
opened with the dukes of Austria for the surrender to 
the king of Bohemia, of Styria, Carniola, and Austria 



TO THE DBA TH OF KING JOHN 345 

as fiefs of the kingdom by virtue of the investiture 
conferred on Otakar by Emperor Richard. Henry 
supported these pretensions; but Frederic replied, 
"Tell him that within the limit of fifty years Austria 
has been the grave of five sovereign princes; and 
Henry of Luxembourg may be the sixth if he ventures 
to molest us in our legitimate territories." The 
emperor, however, had only brought forward the claim 
in order to anticipate any opposition to the settlement 
of the Bohemian crown; and as the dukes were then 
closely occupied with Switzerland, and commotion 
distracted their own dominions, no danger seemed likely 
to interfere with the new dynasty. Henry therefore 
proceeded on his long meditated expedition to Italy. 
The Ghibelline party regarded this emperor as their 
hope, and they eagerly welcomed him on his arrival. 
Some merely desired to crush their enemies the 
Guelphs; others cherished a hope of a restoration of 
the ancient empire. Among these the poet Dante 
immortalized the emperor as the shepher.d of his 
people; and the restorer of justice; and reproduced 
in his work "De Monarchia" all the arguments em- 
ployed by Frederic H. in support of his temporal 
dominion against papal pretensions. Milan opened 
its gates; but the Guelph party under the Delia Torre 
created a tumult that required all the efforts of Leo- 
pold to suppress. Guido Delia Torre fled to Cremona; 
but that city disappeared as such, being taken and 
leveled in 1311. Brescia detained Henry for some 
time and Walram his brother fell before its walls. 
Enraged by the defection of Tabaldo de Brussati who 
had armed the city, Henry vowed that every inhabitant 
should be deprived of his nose. On the taking of 
the city the statues only became noseless. Henry 



346 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

reached Rome with a small escort in 1312. He did 
not acquire complete possession of the city; and his 
coronation took place in the Lateran amid the shouts 
of the Guelphs. Returning northward the emperor re- 
newed preparations for war. For this purpose the 
young king of Bohemia as imperial vicar north of 
the Alps summoned the electors and princes to a 
reichstag at Nuremburg in the beginning of 1313, and 
required them to furnish a strong contingent of troops 
to aid the emperor during the coming summer. 
Henry affianced himself to Catharine, sister of duke 
Leopold, and king John prepared to escort the 
princess to Italy. For this purpose a new disposition 
for the temporary government of Bohemia became 
necessary. Count Berthold of Henneberg assumed 
the office of regent; and the young king accompanied 
by a splendid train set out by way of Ulm and Zurich, 
August 15th. The empress expectant accompanied 
by her mother, advanced across the Alps and reached 
the Ticino; and the promised arrival of fresh German 
troops elated Henry with hope of success. But an 
unsuccessful dssault on Siena created a check; and at 
Buonconvento the emperor died of poison administered 
in the sacramental cup by a Dominican monk Bernard 
de Montepulciano. With his failing breath he said 
to his murderer, "You have given me death in the 
cup of life; but flee ere my followers seize you." 
August 24, 1313. At Pisa unhappy Catharine received 
a corpse instead of a bridegroom. During these occur- 
rences Bohemia presented a thousand petty scenes 
of local contention. The details of administration 
being overlooked in the interest of external affairs, 
very remotely or not at all associated with the good 
of the kingdom, partizans of small interests strove in 



TO THE DEA TH OF KING JOHN 347 

remote places; villages and even towns suffered, and 
progress was retarded. Nobles claimed restoration or 
extension of privileges and power from neighboring 
municipalities, and over tenants and subordinates. 
Family discords revived and party spirit in cities 
became aggravated to bloodshed occasionally. Prague 
witnessed such strife between factions; and similar 
calamities threatened other cities. Bohemia for a 
time almost ceased to be a kingdom to be governed 
as such; and its destination seemed to be that of an 
appendage to the private property of the imperial 
family to be devoted to purposes outside his own 
boundaries or interests. 

This year, 1312, witnessed the overthrow of the 
Knights Templars in Bohemia as elsewhere. Their 
wealth and pride formed the ostensible — their inde- 
pendent thought formed the real — motive for their 
destruction. 

' King John's reign consisted of endless restlessness 
and strife. The country was gradually rent by par- 
ties. Archbishops and abbots were loudly accused of 
withdrawing excessive sums of money from the re- 
sources of the country. The king's constitutional 
power was slender and he attempted to extend it to 
the utmost. The strong hand of each local baron, who 
knew his people and was known by them, held its own 
throughout the country; and the personal separation 
between the king and his nominal subjects grew daily 
wider. He distrusted them with good reason; and 
they felt a political aversion to him, as after all only 
an adventurer, with reason equally good. The king 
hated the contentious barons whom he could not 
crush, not for their contentions, but because their 
quarrels were not avowedly on his side, and he was 



348 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

generally accused of harboring a design to destroy 
them. Hence arose a universal combination to resist 
direct encroachments. The king was expected to be 
the leader ; but he was not hewn out of the same 
block, and no continuity of feeling existed between 
king and people; he could not think as they thought, 
could not participate in their feelings and had no right 
to dictate. Hence domestic government reverted 
wholly to local magnates. 

The struggles between Kings Louis and Frederic 
involved Hungary and Bohemia; but John's prowess 
exacted large sums for his claims to disputed cities; 
and extensive districts bacame added to Bohemia. 
The power of Austria was effectually broken for a 
time. In that day towns were parceled out to princes 
and princesses as personal estates. The custom is 
strictly oriental, and in the absence of a fixed revenue 
was unavoidable. But the custom created endless 
contention. 

From 1324 a wider policy arose. The king of 
France beheld in John a valuable ally if he could be 
secured, and the task was not difficult. John's early 
residence in Paris, his fondness for that cit}'^, and the 
perpetual jousts, junketing, and romantic entertain- 
ments of that alwa3's gay capital, notwithstanding the 
grievous destitution in France, entranced his ardent 
disposition. Welcome alwa3/s awaited him as he was 
then the only prince in Europe who possessed money. 
John's 3'ounger sister Marie, queen of France, great- 
ly assisted in enticing him thither. John consigned 
his eldest son, then named Wenzel, to her care; and 
the prince as he grew up renounced his name, adopted 
that of his uncle — Charles, and abandoned his native 
tongue to almost total forgetfulness of it. During the 



TO THE DEATH OE KING JOHN 349 

constant absences of the nominal sovereign of Bohe- 
mia, king, government and the reign of law were 
likewise exiled ; and petty oppressions and waste con- 
stantly resulted. Poland had become separated from 
Bohemia since 1306, and ambitious aspirants sought 
promotion through the pope under promise of liberal 
Peter's pence. Silesia, Poland, Brandenburg, Austria, 
Bohemia and even Lithuania suffered from these in- 
trigues, and only the hand of the locally strongest 
prevailed. John XXII. interfered in all and exacted 
from all for liberal premises. War with Austria in 
1328, and with Poland in 1329, exacted again money 
and munitions from John's zealous subjects. 

The death of the talented Queen Elizabeth in 1330 
caused the king extreme grief; and seemed to disturb 
his reason, such as it was. About this period he 
dreamed of German control over Italy, and despatched 
his ambassadors to John XXII. on the subject ; but he 
only gained the pope's enmity thereby. For seven 
hundred years the popes had regarded Italy as strictly 
a church estate, and they regard it as such still. But 
King John's prowess was felt and his kingdom formed 
a power in Europe. His own people although dis- 
trustful were submissive, through lack of better and 
apprehension of worse. Even the high roads which 
according to old chronicle had been dark with spears 
and shields were cleared of robber knights by the be- 
laboring cudgel of the king. The emperor made great 
concessions to obtain an alliance with Bohemia. The 
king was constituted vicero}' of Milan, Bergamo, 
Pavia, Novara, Cremona, Parma, Modena, Reggio and 
Bobbio, and imperial vicar general in Ital}' — for a 
consideration of 120,000 ducats. The honor was utterly 
empty, and in reality a fraudulent bombast, but the 



35 o HIST OR Y OF B O HEM I A 

money was paid. In fact more hard cash was paid 
down in those ages for the alleged fee simple of 
"castles in Spain," in heaven and in Italy, than for 
all the real "real estate," of the rest of the earth. 
On a similar principle John supported Philip of 
France in all his quarrels, paying his own expenses, 
or rather requiring toiling Bohemian miners to pay 
all this wanton waste of money for him, and flew over 
Europe to aid him.* In plain phraseology Bohemia 
no longer possessed a government devoted to its inter- 
ests. The country was held in the gripe of the im- 
perialist and ecclesiastical allies who had combined 
to seize it. Both extorted immense sums that were 
sent abroad; and it was for this purpose the alliance 
had been effected. 

Wars in Italy and on the Austrian border gave oc- 
cupation to prince and nobles. Young Charles, for- 
merly Wenzel, on the death of the queen, must present 
himself at home. On his return from the meretricious 
gayety of Paris he found Bohemia exhausted. The 
constant absence and wanton extravagance of the 
chief magistrate, constant local quarrels, neglect of 
trade, murders, robberies, extinction of law, a wasted 
country constituted the prospect that the seductions 
of Paris had largely created. The revenues were gone; 
castlas and towns in ruin. In the melancholy words 
attributed to him he found "no father, no mother, no 
brother or sister to anybody anywhere; family ties 
dissolved, destitution in the palace, not a royal resi- 
dence remaining, anarchy all around and even Ota- 
kar's palace in Prague largely in ruins." The prince 

* "In via cernitur non ut equitans, sed potius quasi volans" says 
the Chronicle. The details of these wild campaignings are not here 
set down, as they have little or no connection with the story of Bohe- 
mia. They formed merely the quixotic adventures of an erratic king. 



TO THE DEA TH OF KING JOHN 351 

was glad to accept a burgher's lodging. Charles dil- 
igently visited every region. Order was restored; 
quiet enforced ; nobles were conciliated by concession 
of ancient privileges. The Bohemian language had 
greatly declined and German was chiefly the official 
tongue. King John had devoted his attention to tour- 
naments, and in 1334 long lay ill of his wounds in 
Paris. The marriage of the Austrian duke Otto with 
John's youngest daughter Anna seemed a token of 
friendship in that quarter; but really formed only a 
new cause of claim to dynastic interest in Bohemia. 
Well indeed might Prince Charles feel thankful for 
even a yearly income of 500 golden marks from Hun- 
gary in right of his wife. 

During the winter of 1337 King John's eyes became 
seriously affected during an expedition into Lithuania, 
at that date little but a territory. The right eye was 
injured through the unskillfulness of a French physi- 
cian who was flung into the Oder; and in Prague the 
king submitted to an Arab practitioner who destroyed 
the eye completely. In 13^1 the king became totally 
blind.* 

This period was chiefly though quietly agitated by 
preparations and intrigues on account of the antici- 
pated quarrel between Edward III, and the French 
crown. Each strove by artifice to procure allies: 
and King John was naturally the friend of France. 
John continued to wander through Europe; but want 

* "Oculo utroque fuit captus, quorum alterum amisjt ex aere nebu 
losa in Litvania, alterum in hastiludio Isesus, ex dolore et medici im- 
peritia in Bojemia." Stransky. By "aere nebulosa" seems to be 
meant cataract. The "hastiludio" or jousting probably caused the 
king's illness in Paris. The Jews and Arabs at that time enjoyed a 
high reputation for skill in cases of cataract; and as late as the 15th 
century the reputation was deserved; the operation having been suc- 
cessfully performed on queen Isabella the Catholic's father. 



352 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of money to pay his debts alone compelled his return 
at times to Prague. The year 1344 witnessed a final 
effort against the alleged paganism of Prussia; but 
although prosecuted with the aid of a splendid array 
of cliivalry the expedition ended ingloriousl}^ The 
acknowledged influence of the Bohemian monarchy, 
however, procured the election of young Charles to the 
imperial dignity, and the homage of the Bohemian es- 
tates as their future sovereign. These arrangements 
had been scarcely perfected when the landing of Ed- 
ward III. on the coast of France summoned John to 
his last campaign. 

July i2th, 1346, Edward entered Normandy with 
forty thousand men commanded by many of his ablest 
and most experienced marshals. His army fiercely 
wasted the country; but frequent skirmishes reduced 
its numbers. Advancing along the south bank of the 
Seine the king found difficult}^ in crossing, as the 
bridges had been broken; but at length he succeeded. 
King Philip assembled a great host numbering 20,000 
men at arms, too, 000 foot of various degrees of effective- 
ness, and a picked corps of about 7,000 Genoese arch- 
ers, then very highly esteemed as soldiers. Philip ad- 
vanced toward Abbeville in pursuit of the invader; and 
Edward struggled to march north across the Somme. 
Knowing that a great host advanced in his rear the 
English king found himself apparently hemmed in 
between a river on the north and a might}^ enemy not 
far behind him on the south. Having successfully 
assaulted some towns and castles he had taken many 
French prisoners. To these he offered a reward of 
100 crowns of gold, liberty and transport to any one 
who should conduct him to a ford across the Somme. 
"A varlet of Mons," one Gobin Agache accepted the 



TO THE DEATH OF KING JOHN 353 

offer, and pointed out the easil}^ passable tord of 
Blanque Taque — the local pronunciation of Blanche 
Tchae, or White Spot from the chalk formation that 
crops out there. The passage was hotly disputed b}' 
the French under Godemar de Fay. His knights 
charged their enemies in the water, but were stub- 
bornly repulsed and driven from their position. Ed- 
ward crossed before Philip knew the fact, and took 
a strong position on a rising ground close to the vil- 
lage of Crescy. He had thus executed a movement 
precisely similar to that of Napoleon at Givet. The 
night when this feat was executed Philip spent feast- 
ing at Abbeville; and after a circuitous march in the 
expectation of finding his foe still south of the river, 
and invested on all sides, he discovered the English 
well posted behind rough breast works and palisades. 
The French army was in truth a motley host, and 
seriously imperiled as well by want of union as by 
the rankling jealousy of its comm.anders. The duke 
D'Alencon held chief control on the field. His im- 
patience hastened the battle. The English stood facing 
south; the day was exceedingly sultry; and an eclipse 
of the sun and a furious thunderstorm depressed the 
ardor of the French. The bowstrings of the Genoese 
archers were wetted and spoiled, while the English 
protected theirs in their helmets. The Genoese had 
marched far, and requested some rest; but D'Alencon 
reproached them with cowardice. At three in the after- 
noon they advanced with strange leaps and shouts, and 
shot their arrows which fell far short. Again they 
leaped and shouted as if to disconcert their impassive 
enemies. Not an Englishman moved a pace that day 
until the full moment came. A third time the Gen- 
oese leaped and shouted and charged. But their ranks 



354 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

were smitten with a tempest of arrows. The steady 
English line moved forward one pace to give their 
right arms room to draw, and to take aim. The Gen- 
oese fell in hundreds. Again and again the arrow 
flight smote them, and they broke and ran. In their 
headlong flight they encountered and confounded the 
first main line of the French in its advance. Con- 
fusion dire resulted. A fierce storm of English arrows 
smote the struggling crowds. The first line was ir- 
retrievably broken and routed. The second line led 
by the gallant Etracelles extricated itself from the 
confusion in its front, wheeled to the right and as- 
sailed the prince of Wales. Here a stubborn fight . 
ensued. Again the rude barricades were assailed; 
but spear and arrow laid the assailants low. It was 
at this conjuncture that aid was asked from Edward 
in command of the reserve line as he stood near the 
famous windmill. Being assured that his son was still 
unhurt he left the day to the prince. Etracelles and 
his warriors were repulsed and himself slain. The 
French line was broken with great slaughter. The 
English now advancing smote the struggling and 
broken ranks and covered the field with carnage. Philip 
at this point advanced with his third line, and his 
officers attempted to remove him. But the king 
advanced into the melee. His troops suffered terribly; 
he was himself twice wounded, and with great difficulty 
led from the field. Before the final rout of Philip's 
corps King John of Bohemia in command of the 
extreme rear guard advanced upon the field. Being 
totally blind he was conducted by two Bohemian 
knights whose chargers were chained to his. Urged 
to quit the hopeless fight John replied "This sight 
shall I never see, a king of Bohemia fleeing from bat- 



TO THE DEA TH OF KING JOHN 355 

tie." Struggling into the contending lines the king 
struck out vigorously; but the English advancing in 
good array overwhelmed him and his knights. The 
king's sudden irruption into the fight already hope- 
lessly lost, and his frantic efforts to slay somebody 
infuriated his opponents. John was unhorsed and 
mortally wounded. Henry of Rosenberg and Monch 
von Basel his faithful supporters perished by his side. 
The unbroken English still advanced and inflicted 
sore destruction on their foes who scattered and fled 
they knew not whither. That night and the succeed- 
ing day were the French pursued. Many detachments 
were cut down to a man; and the French host utterly 
crushed and annihilated as an army. Philip's allies, 
Don James king of Majorca, Louis count of Flanders, 
and the duke of Savoy, John of Vienna, archbishop 
of Rouen, and the abbot of Corbie barely escaped. 
A large number of the French nobility fell at Crescy. 
The king of Bohemia still breathed when found by 
the English. He was carried into Edward's tent, and 
attended with all care; but during the night his frac- 
tious spirit found its first and last repose. Next day 
King Edward visited the remains; took from the hel- 
met three ostrich plumes which were fixed there; and 
received also the king's sword bearing the motto" Ich 
Dien" "I serve," in assertion of the king's knightly 
homage to the ladies, then the highest chivalry em- 
bodied in a soldier's sword. The plume King Edward 
presented to his son ; and his successors wear a triple 
ostrich plume as a cognizance still.* The body of 
King John was deposited in the chapel of the abbey 

*Three ostrich plumes were not an uncommon princely cognizance. 
They were worn by the murdered Albert of Austria; and may have 
betokened a claim to that duchy. 



356 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of Valloires; and subsequently interred at Luxem- 
bourg. It IS stated on apparently good authority that 
the tomb was rifled during the French revolution, and 
the bones removed. A portion of them found their 
way into the cabinet of curiosities possessed by M. 
Buschman proprietor of a porcelain manufactory at 
Treves and were exhibited to visitors. 
- Over the temporary resting place of King John's 
remains years afterward was set up a quaint legend: 

"L'an mil quarante six trois cents 

Comme la chronique tesmoigne 
Fut apporte et mis ceans 

Jean Luxembourg Roi de Behogne." 

John's contentious nature ever found congenial oc- 
cupation in encountering the legion foes of Bohemia, 
and a host of others besides. His subjects groaned 
under his exactions; but seem to have felt a distorted 
pride in the baleful prominence he bestowed on their 
country.* 

* At the commencement of his reign, John actually attempted to ex- 
change Bohemia for Bavaria because the latter state lay nearer to 
Luxembourg. The estates were not consulted until the agreement 
had been drawn up. ' Pactionemque illis, quam cum rege inire 
coeperat, scriptam ostendit, in qua diserte aperteque appositum erat." 
The Bohemians stoutly defeated the project as an attempt to sell them 
to the Germans. Gold, Lib. iii, c. xiv, § 5. Dobrowski, Hagec. All 
mention the facts at length. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV. 



Charles IV. had been recognized by Philip of France 
immediatel}^ on his arrival in the French camp before 
the battle of Crescy. He fled wounded to the abbey 
of Ourschamps; but speedily continued his journey 
and re-entered his dominions without either money or 
an army. Physically less restless than his father 
he possessed a combination of intellectual qualities of 
the opposite character that conferred on him great 
pre-eminence. He was literary and learned, was gifted 
with a good address, and much mental application. 
His designs were bold and comprehensive, and he pur- 
sued them more by craft, subtlety and intrigue than 
by force of arms. Having really ruled Bohemia since 
his 17th year he entered easily on his weighty dual 
duties as king and emperor. Negotiations were im- 
mediately opened with neighboring princes to secure 
the peace of Bohemia; and this object was attained 
in a measure. Charles without an army or mone}^ 
passed into Italy in March 1347. This total abstention 
from all display of power arose from a secret engage- 
ment to the pope whereby Charles renounced imperial 
pretensions to Italy. The same year the king's cor- 
onation was performed with all available pomp at 
Prague. The estates exacted from their new sovereign 
a solemn engagement: — (I.) That no Berna* or as- 

* The Berna was really a voluntary contribution; but there was 
danger of its becoming an impost. 

357 



358 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

sessment on the nation should be made except for 
royal nuptials. (II.) That the native nobility of Bohe- 
mia and Moravia should enjoy their hereditary power 
unimpaired. (HI-) That inheritance of both sexes to 
estates should be respected, and royal favorites not 
introduced. (IV.) That Bohemia and Moravia should 
not be bound to military service outside the kingdom. 
This last stipulation in fact established the military 
service on the basis of a militia and not of a standing 
army. 

During the lustrous period that followed not only 
the glory of Bohemia revived, but far surpassed its 
former splendor. Prague, the center of the empire, nobly 
fulfilled its duties, and rose to the full appreciation 
of its great position. Bohemia stood first in the world 
in power, wealth, progress and liberty. In 1348 
Charles issued his confirmatory charter renewing the 
grant by Richard of Cornwall, the emperor in 1262, 
whereby the duchy of Austria and the marqaisates of 
Styria and Moravia were perpetually attached to the 
crown of Bohemia. This very friendly and appre- 
ciative act by the brother of Henry III. of England 
created a sentiment of close regard for the latter 
country in Bohemia, and this feeling continued strong 
among the population at large, especially after Rich- 
ard's imperial grant had been violated repeatedly by 
princes of German sympathies. Since 1262 England 
had been regard-ed as the especial friend of Bohemia; 
and the political constitutions and popular aspirations 
of both countries based on the same origin, sustained 
on the same principles, and demanding the same 
rights, were at this date drawn still closer together 
by the renewal under Charles of the dignities granted 
under Richard. England and Bohemia thoroughly 




Karlstein. 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 359 

understood each other's claims; and England's parlia- 
ment always sympathized with and sustained Bohe- 
mia's national policy that was identical with its own. 
In the charter as re-issued by Charles the rescript of 
investiture of Richard is inserted at length; and was 
upheld by the Bohemian estates is a perpetual law of 
the empire. The text of this charter as well as of 
the original investiture, here referred to is that given 
by Balnius and accepted and confirmed by Goldast.* 
At this point the effect of the disingenuous and tyran- 
nical censorship under which Palacky was compelled 
to publish is clearly perceptible. This learned and 
patriotic author seems voluntarily to add to the grant 
by Richard other documents favorable to Austrian pre- 
tensions subsequently set up,f 

These proceedings, however favorable to Bohemia 
did not prevent ecclesiastical intrigue from bringing 
forward a rival claimant to the empire in the person 

* App. Document, XVII., and XXXIII. 

f These documents are I. an assertion, in King John's confirmation, 
of the general rights and privileges of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 
opposition to the Roman Empire. II. The privileges granted by 
Frederic I. January i8, 1158. III. The Golden Bull of Frederic II. 
26th September, 1212, and again of July 26, 1216, IV, Emperor 
Rudolph's two briefs of March 4, 1289, and 26th September, 1290, 
fixing the appropriate dignity and election rights of Bohemia in the 
Empire. V. The same monarch's three briefs of 22d July and 25th 
and 26th September 1290, respecting Bohemia's rights over Breslau. 
VI. Emperor Albert's diploma of September 17, 1298. These are all 
omitted in the copy presented by Goldast from Balbinus; and they 
seem to have been added at a later date to a spurious copy intruded 
into the archives at Prague. The spirit of these documents is hostile 
to the independence confirmed by Richard, and favorable to the pre- 
tensions of the Austrian dynasty, especially in opposition to the im- 
perial charter now conferred by Charles IV. The charter formulated 
by this monarch is complete as given by Goldast, and is consistent at 
once with itself and the Emperor-King's evident intentions. The dis- 
ingenuousness in the above documents consists in the evident attempt 
to seem to confer rights already long possessed, enjoyed and in full 
force in Bohemia. The quarrel between Austria and Bohemia arose 
and still arises from that trick. 



36o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of Giinther of Schwartzburg, a man of splendid pres- 
ence, skilful and experienced in war. But a brief 
two years terminated these contentions. 

The same year 1348 became still more memorable 
in Bohemia by the re-establishment of the high school 
of Prague and its formal elevation to the dignity of 
a university — the first in Central Europe. Twelve 
professors were provided. The curriculum broke 
through the obstructions of trivium and quadrivium, 
and extended to all branches of liberal learning. A 
splendid library soon graced the institution. 

Charles labored diligently for his own country. 
His impressions on his return as a royal prodigal from 
Paris, as he looked on the woe of his own land, created 
lasting and most salutary effect. Prague was en- 
larged, protected by rampartS; bridges, towers, sup- 
plied with a cathedral and other extensive buildings; 
and surrounded by vineyards. The king also constructed 
numerous fish ponds and from time to time created 
the New Town of Prague; and the nobles imitating 
his example, vineyards and fish ponds became the 
fashion throughout Bohemia. Prague had become 
largely a German city; and now filled the distinguished 
place of the capital of the industry and intelligence 
of the empire. 

But this year has also been rendered dismally mem- 
orable by the terrible ravages of the plague known as 
the Black Death. This pestilence arose in Tartary in 
1333, thence passed west, and spread desolation in its 
path. Its parents, were extremely conspicuous in Tar- 
tarys and their names were Dirt and Dirty. The un- 
cleanness of cities, towns, districts and individual hab- 
its, in those days of extreme hostility to heresy of all 
kinds, including that of ablution, fomented loathe- 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 361 

some pestilences frequently in those ages. One half 
of the inhabitants of Germany were swept away; and 
the enormous number of 124,434 members of the 
Franciscan minorites of Germany alone who died of 
this plague, indicates at once the ravages of the pes- 
tilence, and the extraordinary concentration of the 
male population on one occupation. 

The discouragement amounting to the destruction 
of practical and useful knowledge in the pursuit 
of piety had deprived mankind of those multiplied 
vocations and industries that are suited to the degrees 
and kinds of human tastes and talents. This fact 
also explains the great eagerness of ecclesiastics to em- 
brace the profession of the law that atthat period opened 
before them Entire cities were rendered utterly deso- 
late by the Black Death ; and ships laden with rich car- 
goes floated over the ocean without crew or pilot. The 
dreadful ravages of this destroyer deprived the peo- 
ple of all control over their reason, and being added 
to the other scourges of that period, plunged the popu- 
lation into the violent frenzy that was nursed by super- 
stition and ignorance of natural laws. Since 1337 great 
portents had alarmed Europe. In that year a mighty 
comet blazed, and flung the wrath of God abroad; lo- 
custs came and covered the earth by miles and leagues; 
earthquakes devastated Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the 
Alpine valleys. In Carinthia 30 villages were en- 
gulfed. Basle was twice overwhelmed. The air was 
heavy and deathly; men's minds then intensely and 
almost exclusively subjective attributed all convulsions 
of earth and land to the sinful beatings of their hearts, 
and they sought to exorcise the demons of seisma and 
of meteor by flagellations of their own backs. The 
sect of Flagellants increased mightily. They marched 



362 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in armies. Extraordinary excitement produced cor- 
responding fervor; and the sect incited all minds. 
The cry arose that the Black Death was caused by 
poison in the wells attributed as usual to the Jews. 
These unfortunates, at once and universally fell vic- 
tims to the terrorized fanaticism of the population. 
They were burned and slaughtered by thousands; and 
their race almost exterminated in Germany. Multi- 
tudes fled to Poland where Casimir like a second Aha- 
suerus from love for another beautiful Esther pro- 
tected the fugitives. Poland has felt their abundant 
presence ever since. 

The birth of Prince Wenzel in 1350 seemed to as- 
sure a succession, and to stimulate the emperor to 
still greater efforts to enlarge his dynastic dominions. 
During twenty-eight years following he labored at this 
task by negotiations, by subsidies, and by show of 
force. 

In 1355 Charles proceeded without an army to Rome; 
and there received the imperial crown. But by agree- 
ment with the pope he lingered only a few hours. 
Rienzi and Petrarch both hoped for great things from 
the union of Germany and Italy. Guelph and Ghib- 
elline equally submitted to him. But Charles seized 
Rienzi and delivered him to his enemy. On his re- 
turn Charles exhibited some friendliness to the Floren- 
tines ; and at Pisa the city hall where he lodged was set 
on fire, out of revenge by the Pisans; and the emperor 
and empress with difficulty escaped.* From the expedi- 
tion the king returned laden with relics which present 
policy alone induced him to accept. His writings and 

* Charles had several narrow escapes and enjoyed what is called a 
charmed life. In 1338 on his return from Italy he was pursued by 
Venetian galleys to be held for ransom. His vessel was surrounded; 
but Charles slipped over the side into a fisherman's boat, was con- 
veyed ashore and found refuge with the patriarch of Aquileia. 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 363 

controversial freedom on theological questions exhibit 
a mind far above the influence of church bric-a-brac of 
that kind. His intellectual grasp on the great subjects 
of the day, free will, predestination, realism, and the 
pliiiosophical apology for the gospel, was equal to the 
strongest, and far removed from puerilities. 

The year 1356 is especially distinguished by the 
issuance of the celebrated imperial Golden Bull fixing 
the electorate of the empire. This great charter owed 
its form, though not its substance, to Cardinal Talley- 
rand, then Charles' chief negotiator with the pope. It 
limited the electors to seven; three ecclesiastical, 
Mentz, Cologne and Treves; and four temporal, Bo- 
hemia, Saxony, Brandenburg, and the Pfalzgraviate 
of the Rhine. It declared the person of each elector 
sacred; enacted that every question should be decided 
by the majority, and forbade all appeal. Frankfort 
was fixed as the place of session; and Aix-la-chapelle 
the place of coronation. It abrogated all confirma- 
tion by the pope ; and pronounced the emperor com- 
petent for every imperial function from the moment 
of his election. Charles' marriage alliances conferred 
on him large accessions of territor}^ at the same time 
the ambition and the scourge of Bohemia. His sec- 
ond queen Anna conferred on him extensive domains 
in the upper palatinate, which cost him years of con- 
tention. His third queen, also named Anna, of the no- 
ble Polish family of Piast, brought him Silesia. His 
fourth empress Elizabeth of Pomerania was a woman 
of extraordinary strength. Lower Lusatia and Bran- 
denburg were acquired by purchase. 

Again in 1367 Charles visited Pope Urban in Rome. 
His good understanding with this pope continued 
chiefly through Cardinal Talleyrand. But it proved as 
hollow as the confidence of Otakar. 



364 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

In 1377 young Wenzel qnietly received the imperial 
suffrage; and although the bloody and protracted "war 
of the cities" arising from the union of knights and 
cities against Everard of Wirtemburg, a favorite of the 
king, produce serious contentions from 1377 to 1389 
yet the energy of Frederic I. of Hohenzollern, and his 
vigorous use of artillery, restored quiet if not absolute 
justice in Suabia and Prussia. 

In 1378 the emperor, prince Wenzel, now king of 
the Romans, and Charles V. king of France enjoyed 
a splendid interview in Paris and established more 
friendly relations with that monarch in anticipation 
of Wenzel's accession. The king died at Prague the 
same year ; and bequeathed to his country and his suc- 
cessor a splendid domain, and the example of a mag- 
nificent success, judging from outward appearances. 
The domain, not an integral portion of the Bohemian 
dominion, might be expected to continue attached 
hereto only until the next aspirant should arise strong 
enough or by marriage lucky enough to secure it. For 
such evanescent property did Bohemian kings lavish 
their treasures on many occasions. 

Charles IV. was of diminutive stature, though thick- 
set; and carried his head awkwardly projected for- 
ward. His cheek bones were high; his hair raven 
black. In features he inherited decidedly the Bohe- 
mian cast. The king strengthened and beautified 
Prague, and other cities in Bohemia; founded Carls- 
bad, and greatlv enlarged and fortified the Hradschin. 
His policy enriched Bohemia by the addition of exten- 
sive cloth manufacture to the commerce of Silesia in- 
troduced from Flanders, and also a large industry in 
linen. All branches of trade revived and flourished. 
Bohemia became the mart of Europe; and rich stuffs 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 365 

from Turkey, Persia, and India, added to the splendors 
of court and hall. Multitudes of earnest traders and 
zealous reformers found a secure and happy resting- 
place in Bohemia during this long period which wit- 
nessed ceaseless persecutions elsewhere. The social, 
political, and religious sentiments of the numerous ref- 
ugees received quiet welcome by the population at 
large, as they coincided with the primitive and still 
fondly cherished sentiments, national feelings, and con- 
stitutional privileges of the Bohemians. Charles IV. 
delighted in theological controversy, was learned in 
theological lore, and encouraged by his example that 
spirit of bold investigation that was and had long been 
rife in his dominions. 

Although Charles, like his father, exacted enormous 
sums from his ancestral dominions to maintain his 
dignity, and could procure little or no mone}^ from his 
outer estates, yet his countrymen sustained his power 
and supported his policy with constant fidelity. His 
era is justly pointed to with pride, Stately and splen- 
did edifices arose throughout the land; learning was 
promoted with ardor and success; books were multi- 
plied and issued in the highest style of chirograph}', 
binding, and illumination. Several families frequently 
united to publish an important volume, and each 
adorned it with the highest art of the day. Arts and 
commerce flourished; and the mind of Bohemia re- 
ceived an impetus in the direction not only of intel- 
lectual freedom but of national dignity which it has 
never lost, and which has formed the basis of persist- 
ent resistance to oppression to the present da}^ 

When Charles IV. died Bohemia formed a very 
extensive dominion stretching from the Baltic nearly 
to the Danube. Only the provinces bordering on the 



366 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Adriatic to the south of the present city of Trieste 
had been wrested permanently from Otakar's domains 
as conferred on him by Richard of Cornwall. These 
territories internally were very unequally developed 
and were still in a process of transformation. In Bo- 
hemia itself the nobles had recovered and now held 
in full their individual control over their retainers 
and rode at their head on the battlefield as elsewhere 
in almost all Europe. On public questions these 
barons usually made common cause with each other. 
The knightly rank consisted of independent proprie- 
tors and served under some great noble. At this pe- 
riod the burghers rose into prominence in the cities 
established by Otakar, and began to feel their power. 
The silver mines furnished this class with wealth; 
and individuals acquired much local political power. 
The great body of the people were freeholders in their 
own right, largely on the Bohemian principle of em 
phyteusis, or inheritance without ownership. Some of 
these freemen rose to titled dignity ; others sank to be 
servants of nobles or of the church. Only one town 
— Cista in the circle of Bunslav — was an independent 
municipalit}' ; elected its own magistrates and had 
done so from ancient times; and every man was a 
freeholder and elector. These rights had never been 
conferred by any charter. The humblest classes en- 
joyed more personal and political freedom than in any 
other country in Europe. All the people possessed a 
direct voice in national affairs, and took a personal in- 
terest in them. 

The policy of the German emperors and of some 
Bohemian princes had colonized unoccupied districts 
with Germans wlienever possible. These persons were 
welcomed even in Prague for their energy and trust' 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 367 

worthiness. They were especially valuable in the 
mines, and in subduing and cultivating wild districts. 

All classes worked to cultivate the land; a large 
trade in horses, fruits, corn, cloth, safiron, wine, linen 
and many other useful and ornamental articles in 
wood, leather, basketwork, filligree, besides coarser 
articles, hay, vegetables, and hides, was sustained with 
all neighboring countries and largely with Constanti- 
nople; while the wealthy apparel, carpets, arms, and 
decorations of the east found their way into Bohemia, 
and were exhibited at wedding feasts, jousts and other 
entertainments. This period formed the golden age of 
Bohemian social prosperity especially the latter half. 

The religious tone was largely philosophic, argu- 
mentative, and inquiring. Ethically it was broad and 
reasonable; and addressed itself to the mind and good 
sense of the people. Science in our sense was practic- 
ally unknown, and arts and trades took the form that 
antiquity had bequeathed. Schools abounded, and 
poetry, logic, rhetoric and kindred subjects formed 
the chief studies. The country was fully educated ac- 
cording to the progress of the era; and the literary 
taste of the people found frequent expression which 
was generally appreciated. The manners of the peo- 
ple were not below those of their neighbors; but Con- 
stantinople and Germany must be credited with having 
favored an improved address. The constant travels 
and commerce of a numerous trading class spread an 
elevating tone of general intelligence among the citi- 
zens at large. 

The newly acquired province of Silesia presented a 
rapidly changing scene. From early days and cer- 
tainly at the end of the twelfth century a race of an- 
cient princes resided on their patrimonial estates in 



368 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Silesia; below these were many Slav nobles, and be- 
neath them again a much oppressed and enslaved peo- 
ple. No fixed constitutional system existed as in Bohe- 
mia. Herds of wild hogs laired in the extensive swamps ; 
bears picked the wild honey from hollow tree trunks 
unmolested; elks fed on the branches of the pine; the 
beaver made its home by the rivers, and the aurochs 
roamed still master in the forests of Transylvania. 
From their scanty harvests the wretched peasants were 
compelled to contribute largel}' to their masters and 
to the church. Tribute of fish and honey was exacted 
from the water and the heath; imposts of corn and 
personal service were imposed with stern continuity. 
The Slav cities differed from villages in being com- 
posed of more huts, surrounded by a moat and pali- 
sades, and, the vicinity of some rugged castle. To the 
end of the 12th century merchants made payment as 
in Poland with tails of martens, and skins of squir- 
rels. But the mines yielded gold, silver, copper and 
lead, and the nobles diligently prosecuted their right 
of mining and of mintage. Mints were erected in all the 
great towns, and the coinage was changed three times 
a year. Tolls on markets, butchers' stalls and taverns 
furnished state revenue. An influx of Germans into Slav 
countries distinguished the 12th, 13th, and 14th centu- 
ries. Religious brotherhoods multiplied and occupied 
large estates; and the activity of western zealots 
chiefly known as Brethren of the Common Lot, Breth- 
ren of the Free Spirit, Waldenses, and others preached 
and taught and furnished books with great industry. 
After the terrible Tartar invasion of 1241 these immi- 
grants occupied large districts in Poland, Bohemia, 
Hungary and even in Austria, Moravia, and Styria; 
and during the reign of Charles IV. had acquired set- 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 369 

tied communities far advanced in prosperity, with 
churches, schools, ministers and numerous congrega- 
tions constituting in many regions the principal popu- 
lation. Their industry and skill had rendered most 
valuable aid in restoring the desolate country. Ger- 
man free labor was found in these changing condi- 
tions to be the most permanently valuable, and to 
Silesia belongs the honor of having first accepted the 
economic maxim that free labor of free men can alone 
confer prosperity and stability on a nation. During 
this period also the favor shown to municipal estab- 
lishments, such as it was, possessed neither a political 
nor a sentimental character. It was purely selfish, 
wherever it was not extorted ; and the great proprie- 
tors discovered that a crowd of slaves conferred little 
if any wealth on their owners. Voluntary and hope- 
ful labor in cities was seen to prosper and grow great. 
A German race thus intruded into the Slav countries, 
and added energy and intelligence to the population. 
But when national life became stimulated first under 
Otakar and then under Charles IV. the German ele- 
ment was felt to be an impediment, and not seldom 
a tyrant. Added to this cause of jealousy was the 
struggle of the church to obtain mastery chiefly through 
German domination. Hence an intense antagonism 
between Slav and German in Bohemia that long 
smouldered but finally burst into a devouring flame. 
The church was thus regarded as an intruder and an 
alien supported by other alien intruders; and a sullen 
and speechless rebellion against Roman power first, 
and then Roman dogmas, was nourished in the hearts 
of the Bohemians. 

Prague being the center of imperial and royal domin- 
ion during the long and prosperous reign of Charles 



370 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

IV. that city necessarily became the scene of great 
political, social, and religious activity. The relations 
of all countries to each other, dynastic and social, were 
thoroughly known, and included every review of public 
affairs. The genealogical relation of every prince to ev- 
ery other, every courtier was thoroughly familiar with. 
Such knowledge formed an essential part of the edu- 
cation of a councillor. Statesmen, and knights, am- 
bassadors and diplomatists and their trains thronged 
the palace ; and political movements created ceaseless 
discussion. The leading potentates of Europe main- 
tained constant correspondence with the imperial 
court; and coming policies, contemplated intrigues, 
and the actual and approaching relations of states ed- 
ucated the minds of Bohemians to a thorough appre- 
hension of public law, the rights of nations, and the 
duties owing by rulers to populations. 

The throng of students through the university halls, 
the daily lectures and discussions made students per- 
fectly familiar with the theological and philosophical 
speculations that distinugished every school in Eu- 
rope. Every new prelection, each bold speculation 
uttered in the academic halls of one city became the 
theme of lively criticism alike at Prague, Oxford and 
Paris, the great centers of literary enlightenment of 
the day. Did a bold or daring assault on any favorite 
doctrine in philosophy find utterance it was reported 
and commented on. The books publishd by each ac- 
knowledged or aspiring luminary found their way alike 
to and from Prague, Paris, and Oxford without exciting 
remark. Rival doctors and innovating dialecticians 
stirred up controversies and hurled rhetorical phil- 
lipics at each other's theses, premises and conclusions; 
and reformers in doctrines, discipline and theological 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 371 

speculation created vigorous independence, and not a 
little severe condemnation of existing abuses. The 
world of Bohemia nurtured great intelligence; and the 
variety of doctrine publicly taught within its borders, 
grafted on the self-governing political constitution of 
the people, fostered a rigorous independence of relig- 
ious and political conviction that prepared a unity of 
action on great fundamental principles when the op- 
portunity arrived to assert them. 

This unifying tendency received strength from a 
decree of the faculty of Prague in 1347 when bachelors 
were required to make use in their lectures of note 
books of the acknowledged masters of Prague, Oxford 
or Paris. Many students attended long courses of 
lectures in all three universities; and frequent visits 
both of scholars and professors from each college to the 
others rendered all minds perfectly familiar with not 
only the discourses, but the philosophical and doctrin- 
al tendencies prevailing in every school. The light that 
blazed in Bohemia at this time was neither a new 
thing nor the result of a day. The discussions of two 
centuries, gradually emboldened and concentrated, 
found splendid expression both in England and in Bo- 
hemia at this special epoch.. 

In order to avoid breaking the continuity of the . 
narrative presented in the following chapter it is 
proper to set out here at some length the sources of 
religious reform then universally sought for, if not 
openly expressed in Bohemia and the nighboring 
countries. 

During the 13th century, as early probably as 1270 
and certainly as early as 1290 the Waldensian pioneers 
labored in Bohemia, Austria and Hungary. Their 
Nobla Leyczson dates from iioo, and the professors 



372 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of its principles had been distinguished very much 
earlier. They had spread through Germany and many 
of them were found in Switzerland, on the Rhine, m 
Swabia, Thuringia and Bavaria. To them were added 
great numbers of Albigeois who had fled from Lan- 
guedoc before the final massacre of 12 15. They formed 
themselves into societies that corresponded with each 
other, and endeavored with great zeal and success to 
propagatetheir tenets. The wranglings of theologians 
and many other abuses obtained for them both encour- 
agement and proselytes. These communities under 
various names were particularly numerous in the dis- 
trict of the upper Rhine in and around Strasbourg, 
where they were called the "Friends of God," and 
"Winkeler;" and they were present also in Mayence, 
Augsburg and Dankelsbuhl. From various causes 
Franconia became a principal seat of these free move- 
ments. Here at a very early period we find Waldenses 
aid the "Friends of God." In and about Wurtzburg in 
1342 Conrad Hager publicly impugned the sacrifice of 
the mass and similar institutions which he claimed 
ministered to the cupidity of the clergy. An unbroken 
line of evangelical teachers had existed from apostolic 
days. Up to the year iioo their record is clearly 
perceptible; but from 1 100 is bright and abundant. 
Soon after the latter date the believers who were led 
by Tanchelm and De Stella in the Netherlands and 
Brittany only continued principles which with varia- 
ous shades of meaning had never died. The same 
spirit animated the congregations of Peter of Bruis in 
southern France from 1104 to 11 24. Henry of Cluny 
extended the same generous zeal through wide regions 
from 1116 to 1148. Many denominations under various 
titles, some bestowed in ignorance, some in malice by 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 373 

their enemies taught, exhorted, and evangelized in 
north Italy; in and around Treves, 11 15; at Cologne 
1 146; and all through southern France especially at 
Toulouse. Synodical decrees, which were passed very 
frequently, were of no avail against them, for all the 
barons of the country afforded them shelter and encour- 
agement. Their numbers increased greatly, especially 
as a leaven of ancient Greek civilization and Sara- 
cenic science prevailed through Languedoc, chiefly in 
Montpelier, The council of Lombres in 1165, vainly 
denounced these people, and even the severe decree of 
third Lateran council, 1179, produced no effect. In the 
beginning of the 13th century nearly all the daughters 
of the southern French nobles were educated in the 
establishments of the Perfectae, a female branch of the 
reforming denominations. The Katharoi entered the 
states of the church and wrought with great success. 
Their headquarters were at Milan in 1173, and Bona- 
cursus here wrote his treatise against them in iigo. 
About 1200 they are found in Dalmatia, Bosnia and 
Croatia and the Tyrol. At this period their numbers 
received a great accession by the spread of the Poor 
Men of Lyons, afterward known as Waldenses, and 
confounded with the Vallenses and Vaudois, orVaudes 
as they named themselves in the Nobla Lej^czon. All 
through the last quarter of the 12th century, and dur- 
ing the entire of the 13th these earnest teachers jour- 
neyed and labored. As early in their histor)' as 1190 a 
religious conference at Narbonne attacked them. At 
the close of the 12th and beginning of the 13th cen- 
tury the Poor Men of Lyons formed the dominant 
party in many regions of Southern France. Innocent 
III. hurled his crusading legions at them, and thus 
diffused their spirit and their principles all the more 



374 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

widely. The horrors perpetrated against these evan- 
gelists locally known as Albigeois need not be re- 
told here. From 1215 to 1226 the ravages of war and 
carnage devastated the fairest regions of Europe at the 
instigation of Innocent III. and after that date the 
Inquisition slaughtered still more cruelly. From 
souctiern France these teachers spread to Germany, 
Spain, when St. Ferdinand of Castile with his own 
hands carried faggots to burn some of the fugitives: 
and into the countries of eastern Europe, chiefly Bo- 
hemia, Moravia, Poland and Hungary. Styria, Pom- 
erania, Albania and Rascia felt the presence of these 
persons. The Brethren of the Common Lot, Brethren 
of the Free Spirit and others received the fleeing Al- 
bigeois. The cities of Nordlingen, Ratisbon, Augsburg, 
Tischingen in Swabia, Solothurn, Bern, Weissenberg, 
Hagenau, Speyer, Holzhausen near Frankfort, Worth 
in Swabia, Friedberg, Mayence, Vienna, Cologne, 
Strasburg, Metz, and many others acknowledged the 
services of these teachers. Metz, Constance, May- 
ence, Strasburg, Bern, Lubech witnessed frequent 
martyrdoms not by two or three, but in crowds. Mag- 
deburg, the March, the Palatinate, Bohemia, Thurin- 
gia, Krems, Saxony, Hesse, knew the zeal of the re- 
formers from 1 104 to 1372 continuously. In fact the 
ecclesiastical history of those countries from the be- 
ginning of the i2th to the middle of the 15th century 
is largely a catalogue of assaults by wholesale on 
these evangelizing reformers. Even in Florence in 
1228 the Katharoi possessed a bishop and a large con- 
gregation. In Rome in 1231 they were very numer- 
ous. In Viterbo were many and frequent maftyrdoms. 
accused of having held converse with Beguinae.* 

* This proof of the activity of Beguinoe or praying women in Bohe- 
mia is very significant in 1381. 




Bethlehem Church. 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV 375 

Sicily knew their presence and well would it be for 
that stagnant island if it knew their presence still. 
Europe was replete with reformers centuries before 
Luther or Hus. Each of these took up the work at 
an opportune crisis; but in Luther's case the world 
was better prepared. There is a statement that Peter 
of Lyons himself journeyed to Bohemia about 11 go 
and labored in a province of that kingdom for twenty 
years.* That province included Hussinetz , the birth- 
place of Hus. "In many places witliin Austria and 
Bohemia" says John, abbot of Victring in 1336, "the 
tares were sown among the wheat." And in all these 
regions during all this period it was remarked that 
rarely could one person of either sex be found among 
these reformers who did not know in the common 
tongue the text of the New Testament. This knowledge 
of the Scriptures was distinctly a Waldensian charac- 
teristic. 

The reforming preachers who arose within the church 
Roman in Bohemia during the fourteenth century ex- 
pressed the efforts and denunciations that originated 
with the universities of Paris and Oxford. Here a 
reform of the church itself had long been loudly called 
for. Earnest of Pardubitz archbishop of Prague in 1344 
loudly heralded the cr}'^ for purification of the church. 
He drew up new statutes for his clergy; but his first 
concern were the numerous heretics in his diocese. 
In the region round Pisek many heretics were found; 
in fact the district was distinctly declared heretical. 
In 1381 the ordination of Johl of Pisek could not be 
undertaken because his father and grandfather had 
been heretics. In the same year during the general 
visitation of the diocese the vicar of St. Martins is 
* See Perrin. Vaughn, Life of Wycliffe, etc. 



376 HIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

Earnest,was followed and emulated by Konrad of Wald- 
hausen, preacher of the Teyne church of Prague. 
His sermons were disseminated through Moravia, Si- 
lesia; Austria, the Tyrol, and Switzerland. Contem- 
pt)rary were Milicz of Kremsier, Matthias of Janow, 
Thomas of Stitny, Jacobell of Mies, John of Steckno, 
Nicolas of Leitomischl, Stephen of Koln, Adalber- 
tus Ranconius — 1355-1388. This last eminent man com- 
posed books in Bohemian for the Chekh youths 
studying at Oxford and Paris, and bequeathed a yearly 
disbursement for their benefit. These ecclesiastics 
created a zeal for reformation of manners and doc- 
trines that long outlived them. Janov* and Adalbert 
denounced the worship of images almost in the words 
of Claude of Turin in the tenth century who has al- 
ways been held up as a favorer of t|ie Vaudois in his 
diocese. Another influence that created warm religious 
discussion arose from the wide and constant agitation 
of the propriety of frequent communion. Evangelical- 
ism lay at the very root of this discussion. The debate 
continued very earnest from 1360 to the following cen- 

* Janov says "From youth up I have loved the Bible, and called it 
my friend and bride, the mother of fair affection and of knowledge, of 
fear and of sacred hope." He composed a treatise "for the simple 
people in Christ ' for whom alone it was intended. These sentiments 
and this language at that time were decidedly Waldensian. With 
great energy he opposed the veneration of images and relics, the 
special objects of Waldensian denunciation; and his zeal in favor of 
frequent communion strongly points to influences from the same 
source. His treatise on the practice of Christianity was composed in 
five books; — I., of the communion of the body and blood of Christ in 
the sacrament of the church. H — HI., of the judging and distinguish- 
ing between true and false christians, and above all pseudo prophets 
and doctors— a favorite Waldensian theme IV. V., of the frequent 
communion and administration of the true body and the blood of 
Christ. The tone of this treatise differs totally from any Roman re- 
ligious book. Janov always professed to reform doctrine to the prim- 
itive standard within the church, as the Waldenses did. In his great 
work there is no trace of Wycliff's influence. 



REIGN OF CHARLES IV - 377 

lury. "Truly I was but a youth," said the Emperor 
Sigismund, "when this sect arose and spread in Bo- 
hemia." If this so-called sect was already organized 
in 1360 or 1365 very many individuals must have held 
such views long before they organized as a sect. The 
sect of 1365 were neither Hussites nor Wycliffites. 
The youth and early manhood of Has and his contem- 
poraries were surrounded by these discussions, and 
controlled by them. The people had never forgotten 
that their first teachers, their first churches, their first 
liturgies, and their first doctrines and religious ethics 
were all Greek;*and although slowly, cunningly and 
with artifice and force other forms had been substituted, 
yet the common people preserved traditions, senti- 
ments, sympathies and doctrines, and above all a sense 
of dissatisfaction with ecclesiastical doings that pa- 
triots had taught them. A readiness to listen to some- 
thing from another quarter was always present. These 
embers of political and religious dissent, ever kept 
alive by demands for constitutional rights and national 
dignity, needed only a breath and a favorabje season. 
The material was now abundant and ready prepared. 

* During the reign of Charles IV, Greek liturgy and Greek doctrine 
were still employed in some of the more retired places. "Exceptis 
paucis remotioribusque locis ubi Groecae religiones forma est." Gold, 
Lib. V, C. ii § 9, quoting lUyricus. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE GROWTH OF THE HUSSITE REFORMATION. 

The broken and disastrous reign of Wenzel IV., if 
reign it can be called, inaugurated the dismemberment 
of the Bohemian dominions. The fitful, and at times 
severe temper of this prince, his undignified and over 
indulgent habits created insubordination. From the 
outset his restless and intrusive brother Sigismund in- 
trigued against him. Wenzel began well, and applied 
himself to public business; but a luxurious disposi- 
tion rendered steady virile application impossible.. 
His father's gift of abundant wine re-acted severely 
against the son and the country. The first error at- 
tributed to Wenzel that betrayed a defective judg- 
ment, consisted in conferring Swabia on Leopold duke 
of Austria in 1382. Soon after this event arose the 
league of the Swabian cities with the Swiss, the de- 
fection of the former, the decisive victory of Sempach, 
and the triu-mph of the Swiss, attributed to the devo- 
tion of Arnold von Winkelried. Wenzel knew that his 
nobles had conspired against him, yet his continued 
severity alienated his friends. Queen Joanna was 
torn to pieces by the great dogs Wenzel kept about 
him; and his next queen was Sophia of Bavaria. This 
reign became early stained by massacres of the Jews of 
whom three thousand were slaughtered in Prague. 
Hitherto the clergy had been subject to the civil power 
and punished for crimes; but in this quarter also with 

378 



THE HUSSITE REFORAiA TION 379 

the beginning of the new reign a spirit of antagonism 
became rife. 

The year 1382 inaugurated for Bohemia an epoch 
the most painfully memorable and the most trans- 
cendently heroic and devoted in her annals. The 
marriage of princess Anne of Luxembourg and Bohe- 
mia with King Richard II. of England naturally 
promised distinction and happiness to both countries. 
Both princes succeeded periods of renown and of 
lustre acquired by manly vigor; both sank beneath the 
opposite qualities. The close intimacy established be- 
tween the two courts created constant interchange of 
residence by students of both countries at the two uni- 
versities, and visits from learned and influential per- 
sons on errands of state, of business, and of courtesy. 
A large number of Bohemians of rank and intelligence 
accompanied Queen Anne to England; the literary and 
religious discussions of the day in that country be- 
came still more thoroughly known; and these persons 
on their return brought each a book or books, and also 
opinions derived from the earnest debates of the time. 
No one person alone, most probably no one score of 
persons introduced English books into Bohemia. 
Such works were regarded as part of the general liter- 
ature of the time and passed unnoticed. Many Bohe- 
mians entered the service of prominent Englishmen, 
and through all these means books, pamphlets and 
writings of various degrees of completeness found ad- 
mittance into Bohemia. The intercourse literary, 
political, and commercial between England and Bo- 
hemia continued freely up to the death of Queen Anne 
in 1439,* and even later but on a somewhat narrower 
basis, 

* This queen is credited with having introduced side saddles and 
hair pins into England. 



38o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The rise, distinction, and almost magical influence 
of the very eminent reformer, John Wycliffe, in Eng- 
land, the "Morning Star of the Reformation" as he is 
there fondly styled, about the period before us, requires 
direct notice. A diligent and intelligent student, pro- 
fessor, master of his college, and finally Rector of 
Latterworth in Leicestershire, John Wycliffe's ingenu- 
ous and manly advocacy of wholesome instruction for 
all classes, of good reputable lives in the clergy, of 
the control of sound morality in religion, and of the 
independence of his country, have conferred immortal 
honor on the name and the memory of this worthy 
and patriotic man. 

Very earnest in his duties as a public teacher, pos- 
sessing ripe scholarship, a ready pen and an honest 
heart, Wycliffe, devoted his most useful life to the culti- 
vation of good morals and sound doctrines. For these 
purposes the correction of prevailing abuses, and the 
removal of prevalent errors were indispensable. Wy- 
cliffe began his reforms as the pioneer in western 
back-woods begins agriculture. The axe must precede 
the plough. A tangled and stubborn growth of "brush" 
and trees must be cleared away; and in this essential 
process much grime temporarily results. After flame 
has consumed both "brush" and log, many stumps re- 
main, and only the leveling force of time can remove 
these obstructions. A partial harvest is reaped in- 
deed, but with many impediments, during the early 
seasons; but in time clean fields spread out in open 
sward, and the harvester reaps his reward. And truly 
he deserves it all. Reformers are always reproached 
with being negative, with tearing down. No forest 
ever yet became a fruitful field by other means. The 
more thoroughly the "clearance" is accomplished the 



THE HUSSITE REFORMATION 381 

purer and cleaner will the harvest be. Such became 
Wycliffe's inevitable method. All his life he toiled 
and saw much of the fruit of his labors. All England 
learned from his lips; and among the throng there 
sat the youths of another land who eagerly imbibed 
the sentiments that strangely corresponded with those 
nourished by many of their own kindred at home along 
the Moldau and the Elbe. Brought up to reverence 
institutions, and free speech such as they found in 
England, these j'ouths welcomed the words that whis- 
pered of a freedom congenial to that of their father- 
land, and the sentiments of antagonism to foreign dic- 
tation that touched the deepest feelings of their own 
hearts. This good man's books were eagerly bought, 
albeit copies still were all too scarce, and conveyed 
or transmitted to friends at home. Not all ponderous 
tomes did this kindly instructor issue to eager readers. 
Pam.phlets and tracts multiplied, accessible to all, 
readily procured and easily protected from the hand 
of the destroyer. This good man's country, likewise, 
had long been the friend of their country; and had 
conferred great eminence and advantage upon her, and 
now the two nations grasped each others' friendly 
hand, and the palace gloried in the mutual happiness. 
Bohemians long had felt and thought that which 
Wycliffe now expressed and England applauded; and 
Bohemia knew a gladness when the love of her own 
heart was thus nobly vindicated before the World. The 
sons of Bohemia loved Wycliffe, and his light spread 
among them like a flash. By this light Bohemia read 
the message sent over to her, and her mind found an 
utterance long denied to her. 

This quiet and unnoticed growth of sentiment con- 
tinued uninterrupted for about twelve years. The 



382 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

year 1393 witessed the beginning of contention but 
not with the reformers. The royal chamberlain, Sig- 
mund Huler, had inflicted merited punishment on two 
ecclesiastics according to the regular course of law. 
For this alleged offense the archbishop of Prague 
summoned the chamberlain to his court; and the lat- 
ter declared that he would come accompanied by 
200 bowmen, and on this answer the archbishop con- 
demned the chamberlain to the penalties of an inter- 
dict for this act and for some alleged heretodox 
speeches. The crown resented this unusual assault 
on its prerogative confirmed as it was in the exercise 
of this power by formal compact and enactment. The 
king took alarm in the presence of treasonable designs 
attributed to the archbishop; and John of Nepomuk 
suffered the penalty of being flung from the unfinished 
bridge into the Moldau for refusal to disclose .the de- 
signs of the archbishop. Sigismund and the Bohe- 
mian ecclesiastics were known to entertain common 
purposes hostile to the king's liberty and much irri- 
tation resulted, Sigismund avowed sentiments ex- 
hibiting a submission to the church in temporal power 
that all the recent kings of Bohemia had repudiated. 
The ecclesiastics affected to be scandalized at Wen- 
zel's religious indifference and free thinking tenden- 
cies that only amounted to apath}'. His alleged le- 
niency to sectarians and Jews seemed to afford proof of 
this accusation. The nobles again felt offended at the 
neglect of their counsel and disrespect for their author- 
ity exhibited in the royal policy. Wenzel's personal 
friends among the higher ecclesiastics died early in 
his reign; and were succeeded by others far less cor- 
dial. Boniface IX. succeeded Urban IV. who died in 
1390 and the change brought infinite evil on Bohe- 



THE HUSSITE RE FORM A TION 383 

mia. These changes favored Sigismund's designs. 
Knowing that the king's influence had greatly de- 
clined Sigismund conspired secretly with the ecclesias- 
tics, and openly with Albert of Austria, and William 
of Misnia, seized Wenzel by treachery at Znaim, and 
conveyed him a prisoner first to Prague and then to 
Wildberg in Austria, 1394. Here Wenzel suffered a 
detention of over two months. He owed his liberation 
to John of Gorlitz, a younger brother. During these 
events Sigismund had become involved in the ceaseless 
contentions that distracted Hungary. He had received 
the province of Brandenburg from Charles IV. and 
had married Maria, eldest daughter of King Louis. In 
1392 he mortgaged Brandenburg to his cousins Procop 
and Johst, and soon afterward led a knight errant ex- 
pedition against Bajazet. In 1396 the Christian host 
fell utterly at Nicopolis-. Prisoners on both sides 
suffered massacre in thousands and Sigismund nar- 
rowly escaped. Returning home penniless, landless, 
and destitute both of credit and of loyalty he affected 
increasing alarm at the growing unpopularity of Wen- 
zel. The king's personal indulgence daily enabled 
the nobles to secure additional privileges. -Yet dur- 
ing these years Wenzel exhibited gleams of states- 
manship that demonstrated his possible pre-eminence 
had he not been overcome by the fatal gift of abund- 
ant wine. Wenzel established the seven circles of the 
empire in 1389 after the great victory won by Everard 
of Wirtemburg over the Swabian league at Doffingen. 
At the diet of Eger leagues of cities were dissolved, 
and in 1390 at the diet of Nuremburg a uniform coinage 
promised to confer stability on commerce. From 1394 
Wenzel enjoyed his liberty; and in 1398 journeyed to 
France and formed an agreement with Louis XII. to 



384 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

secure the resignation of one pope at Rome if Louis 
would obtain that of the other pope at Avignon. 
This proceeding necessarily gave mortal offense to 
Boniface and eventually cost Wenzel the empire. 
Boniface at once created a confederacy including the 
electors on the Rhine, three archbishops, and Rupert 
of Bavaria. Rupert suffered defeat by the condottieri 
in Italy; and lost much influence. But the violent 
and avaricious John of Nassau, archbishop of May- 
ence, the "biting wolf," formed the league of Mar- 
bach. Both kings competed for the support of this 
league, but Rupert retained the alliance of the church. 
John urged the deposition of Wenzel at the instiga- 
tion of Boniface; and the king was cited to appear 
at an assembly of nobles at Oberlaunstein. He de- 
clined to be present, and Rupert was elected as anti- 
emperor, A. D. 1400. During the contentions that 
ensued Sigismund again appeared and seized Wenzel 
and Procop of Moravia, A. D. 1402. The king was 
consigned to the Habsburgs. He was allowed much 
liberty and escaped after seventeen months detention. 
The princes are charged with connivance at this es- 
cape in order to completely destroy the house of Lux- 
embourg by its own contentions. Bohemia preferred 
Wenzel to Sigismund, and secured for him the crown 
during his life. Rupert died in 141 1; and at once 
Sigismund besieged Znaim in order to further his 
designs against Bohemia. Here he was made a vic- 
tim of poison and escaped death with difficulty. In 
T412 the electors advanced Sigismund to the empire. 
He was an active man, possessed extensive estates in 
Brandenburg, Hungary and Poland; and seemed the 
most capable of resisting the rapid disintegration of 
the empire. Brandenburg was again mortgaged; this 



THE HUSSITE REFORM A TION , 385 

time to Frederic the Wise of Hohenzollern. These 
territories were soon afterward conferred in perpetuity 
on this family; and it is needless to state are still in 
their possession. With great difficulty peace was re- 
stored for a time. But Germany had fallen to utter 
disorganization. From the Rhine to the Elbe the em- 
pire had disappeared. Brandenburg, Meissen, Bohe- 
mia and Austria were isolated; Franconia and Swabia 
rent by internal commotions. 

This necessarily brief sketch of the reign of Wenzel 
as emperor exhibits at once the extreme disadvantage 
wherein Bohemia found itself amid the turmoil and 
chaos all around. No friends, no allies, no bounda- 
ries, little internal government, and a constantly aug- 
menting power concentrated in the hands of the pope 
to be directed against any one separate province that 
might dispute his will or disapprove his doctrines. It 
was this melancholy political conjuncture that enabled 
Sigismund finally to succeed in procuring the assent 
of secular princes and ecclesiastical authorities and 
warring factions to unite in calling a general council 
of the church. It was also this melancholy isolation 
that encouraged the council to insult Bohemia under 
the full impression, that without king, government, 
union, or defense the country might be despised and 
insulted with impunity. 

The religious condition of the empire, and of Bohe- 
mia in particular, also created grave disquietude. Sig- 
ismund had long desired to become champion of the 
church. His disposition was arbitrary; and although 
as ardent a worshiper of Venus as his brother Wen- 
zel of Bacchus, yet he aspired to be held a devout 
defender of the faith. The several sliades of religious 
opinion that now distinguished Bohemia and Moravia, 



386 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

under the many influences, inside and outside the 
church above indicated, were in essence all blended 
in the one pursuit of personal sanctity, and the purity 
of domestic life. All included themselves under the 
general term evangelical, and all zealously inculcated 
principles known under that term. The floating doc- 
trineslongrife in those regions had received a strong im- 
petus toward distinctiveness and union, during the 
last half of the fourteenth century, from the discussion 
then universally prevalent concerning the duty and 
spiritual value of frequent communion. 

These discussions constituted a large element in 
the religious life of the time. Many orthodox teachers 
and professors of theology in Prague and elsewhere 
encouraged this discussion. It became the absorbing 
religious topic. Monks and learned circles occupied 
themselves with the doctrine of the supper. All the 
preachers of Prague reviewed the question, and very nu- 
merous treatises appeared on the subject. The popular 
preachers Milic, Mathias of Janov, Mathias of Cracow, 
bishop of Worms in 1404, and a great authority, with 
many others discoursed on the subject. This prelate was 
the author of a very popular tract in German and Bo- 
hemian in which Reason and Conscience hold a dia- 
logue on the duty of frequent communion. Very re- 
markably Mathias insists that a priest in a condition 
of sin cannot administer it. Here was Waldensian 
doctrine pure and simple. John Horlean a doctor of 
theology and of the canon law, also advocates the 
rights of laymen to frequent participation. During 
this discussion young John of Hussinetz entered on 
his studies at Prague. He was of humble parents, and 
like other students, he found "chill poverty," and 
"res angusta domi," a serious obstacle during his early 




^m^Sv:^ 



Tr^M-l 



Birthplace of Hus. 



THE HUSSITE REFORM A TION 387 

years. . Hus* as he named himself had imbibed the 
nationalist feelings of his village surroundings, and 
possessed a nature ardent and honest in favor of whole- 
some morality and useful knowledge. In 1393 Hus 
became bachelor of arts. In 1401 we find him dean of 
the faculty of philosophy, and rector in the following 
year. Two years later he obtained the office of 
preacher at Bethlehem where he was required to preach 
in Bohemian on Sundays and holidays. Hus had 
early encountered and studied the books of John Wycliffe 
then openly read without dissent like other works on 
theological subjects. These works probably concen- 
trated and gave definiteness to the reflections of the 
young student, and may also have fortified him in 
rhetorical skill. The pointedness of Wycliffe's style, 
his earnestness for church reform, and the identity of 
the evils complained of by Wycliffe and the Bohemian 
pastors attracted the serious attention not only of 
Hus but of all the devoted teachers of Bohemia. 

The Englishman drew emphatic notice to special 
evils. These were found actively oppressive also in 
the sister country; and had been already denounced 
there. Identity of experience and a certain degree of 
identity of sentiments, as was most natural under simi- 
lar circumstances, produced powerful sympathy between 
Wycliffe and Hus. Many others had the same feel- 
ings. Regard for Wycliffe's principles spread widely 
and rapidly. They expressed feelings already strong, 
and vitalized convictions already vaguely entertained. 
The religious proclivities and aggressive reform prin- 
ciples of the rector of Lutterworth speedily acquired 
potency in the mind of the rector of Bethlehem. In- 
creased force toward inclinations already working was 
thus conferred. The mental history of Hus is that of 

* Pronounced somewhat as Khoos, meaning goose and being in fact 
the same word. 



388 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

his nation at the time. Reform ideas in church and 
state, in doctrine and government spread with great 
celerity. The mind of Bohemia had been fully pre- 
pared and Wycliffe combined and conferred definite- 
ness on its efforts. A report spread about the year 
1406 that Wycliffe had been condemned for heresy, 
created much excitement in Prague; but Nicholas 
Faulfisch and another student, George Kugehnic, con- 
veyed to Bohemia a document purporting to be a dec- 
laration by the university of Oxford of Wycliffe' s or- 
thodoxy. This document created wide discussion, 
and drew still more pointed attention to Wycliffe's 
principles. In an academical address delivered by 
Hus in 1409 he complained of the Bohemians being 
denounced as heretics. "Here in the city," he ex- 
claimed, "are countless heretics; folk call them Wy- 
cliffites. As for myself I confess before you that I 
have read and studied the works of the Master John 
Wycliffe, and I readily acknowledge that I have learnt 
from them much that is good. Truly not everything 
that I have found in this or the other doctor is on 
that account of the same weight with me as the Gos- 
pel; for only to Holy Scripture will I maintain this 
reverential obedience. Why then should we not read 
Wycliffe's books also, in which are written down 
countless sacred truths?" He then exhorts the stu- 
dents diligently to peruse the books of Wycliffe. Sim- 
ilar bold declarations were made by others at the same 
period. "It is not I," said Pribram, "who have begun 
to diffuse the error of Wycliffe, but the whole Bohe- 
mian nation with the masters John Hus, and Jacobell. " 
The influence of Wycliffe's writings was also for 
many years promoted in Bohemia by Peter Payne, who 
from 1410 to 1415 was vice principal of St. Edmund's 



7^HE HUSSITE REFORMATION 389 

Hall at Oxford, and afterward long resided in Bohe- 
mia where he participated actively in religious discus- 
sions. He remained through life a zealous Wycliffite, 
and died in 1455. 

Since 1403 the teaching of Hus had been affected 
perceptibly by Wycliffe's opinions, chiefly on points 
of philosophy, but without attracting any marked at- 
tention from bishop or pope. But Wycliffe's doctrine 
of the remanence of the bread in the communion sup- 
per created hostility; and all who favored his writings 
in any sense were accused of partaking of the same 
so called heretical doctrine. The scholastic jargon 
concerning nominalism and realism provoked senseless 
party strife among the theologians, and each faction 
exhibited eagerness to exterminate the other. Never 
did the odium theologicum assume at once so irrational 
and so malignant a phase. These causes, pointedly 
the question concerning the bread, stirred up much 
antagonism. Wj'cliffe and his followers in England 
were furiously assailed by the Lancaster party which 
became ascendant in 1399, and in Bohemia by the 
Sigismund party, and the ecclesiastical partizans of 
the Austro-papal party. Wenzel's imprisonment in 
1402, and the death of Wolfram of Skvorec in the 
same year deprived the country of civil and ecclesias- 
tical authority for many months. A second vacancy 
in the see of Prague in the month of December ex- 
tended to the autumn of 1403. During this interreg- 
num theological fuel sufficient for a conflagration was 
supplied by two members of the cathedral chapter. 
They handed to the university two series comprising 
forty five articles alleged, to be heretical extracted, from 
Wycliffe's writings. Hus and his friend Nicholas of 
Litomysl, accused the framers of these articles of fal- 



390 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

sifying the books. The forty-five articles were con- 
demned but only after a most vigorous defense. The 
Carolinum was in a ferment. Stanislas of Znaim, 
Stephen Palec and others defended Wycliffe, and Hus 
was almost drawn to the same side. The inhibition 
of the forty-five articles forms the starting point of the 
religious divisions openly created in Bohemia. "Item 
in the year of the Lord 1403" remarks the University 
Chronicle, "arose the memorable discussion of the 
clergy in the kingdom of Bohemia, among the magis- 
trates, priests and prelates, about certain articles 
which were not well extracted from the writings of 
the English doctor Johannes Wycliffe." As this con- 
demnation occurred in 1403 the knowledge of Wy- 
cliffe's books must be referred back; and the state- 
ment by Jerome of Prague that he had himself brought 
in the Dialogue and Trialogue must be referred to 
1401 or 1402, and perhaps a year earlier. During these 
events Wenzel lay in prison in Vienna, and Bohemia 
possessed in fact no central government. Neither 
Wolfram nor Zbinco who successively occupied the 
see of Prague possessed any individuality of command- 
ing power. Zbinco reposed much confidence in Hus; 
and this circumstance produced comparative quiet for 
about five years. But Wycliffism spread and occupied 
all minds. Most clearly the Roman faith had very 
little if any hold on the population generally. Hus' 
mind became rapidly imbued with Wycliffe's princi 
pies. In 1405 a sermon preached by Hus at the synod 
is replete with Wycliffe's words and thoughts; and 
even the doctrine of Predestination, which is the key- 
stone of Wycliffe's system, is upheld in the same dis- 
course. In 1407 the synodal sermon is marked b}' the 
same characteristics. During the year 1405 Innocent 



THE HUSSITE REFORMATION 391 

VII., at the especial request of the prelates, forwarded 
an admonition to Zbinco to take severe measures 
against the errors of Wycliffe. But Hus preached the 
synodal sermons of 1406 and 1407 notwithstanding the 
fact that the synod of the former year had declaimed 
against those preachers who degraded the rank of the 
clergy on the ground of certain propositions of Wy- 
cliffe. In the discourses of Hus during these years 
and previously occurred severe passages against the 
avarice and shameful lives of the clergy, which pro- 
duced irritation, although such utterances had long 
been fully approved by the highest authorities as sup- 
ported by undoubted facts. In 1408 the clergy of the 
capital diocese presented a formal complaint against 
Hus. These proceedings also involved two other promi- 
nent divines — Nicholas of Wilimovice, called Abra- 
ham, and Mathias of Knin, styled Pater. Both these 
teachers exhibited independent principles, the former 
insisting that laymen had the right to preach, and the 
latter upholding very evangelical doctrine on the Sup- 
per. In May of this year, — 1408, the Bohemian na- 
tion was summoned to the university, and a decree 
formulated that no member should maintain any of 
the forty-five articles; and that no public disputation 
or lecture should be held on any proposition of Wy- 
cliffe's. At the synod of the same year Zbinco de- 
clared at the request of the king that no Wycliffian 
lieresy was to be found in Bohemia; and in order that 
none should arise he ordered that all Wycliffe's books 
should be publicly burned, and must be surrendered 
by all persons for that purpose. Many satirical songs 
and couplets became extremely popular in consequence 
of this order. They were sung in every home in Bo- 
hemia; and were constantly set up in public places as 



392 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

pasquinades. Wenzel's conduct in this matter arose 
from his resolve to seize again the real power of the 
empire, that was at the time feebly held by Rupert. 

This fact proves that Wenzel knew the real motive 
for hostility to him to be the belief that he favored 
Jews and heretics. If heresy still existed in his king- 
dom his plan to resume power must fall. Zbinco's 
motive was the same as that of all high ecclesiastics 
in their relations with political aspirants both before 
and since, namely the exaction of large concessions 
of power to the church in return for votes. The ex- 
change is one sided; for the votes may change to-mor- 
row; but power once grasped by the church is never 
voluntarily surrendered, after the votes have gone. 

The re-action against the rapidly spreading reform 
in Bohemia set in when the cardinals renounced obe- 
dience to both popes — May 1408. Wenzel enjoined 
absolute neutrality on his prelates. An embassy was 
dispatched to the council called at Pisa; but two of 
its members, Stanislas of Znaim, and Stephen of 
Palec, were arrested at Bologna. This outrage has 
been justly attributed to the Wycliffian views upheld 
by these divines. The fact exhibits the abasement of 
Bohemia in the eyes of prelates. At the university 
only the Bohemian nation supported the king's policy 
and declared for neutrality; the others opposed it. 
The archbishop issued a reprimand against Hus and 
the others who had supported neutrality; and from 
that moment Hus and Bohemia had taken issue with 
the persecutors of both. 

King Wenzel's irritation at the proceedings of the 
three nations encouraged the nationalist spirit in the 
university to make a bold attempt to regain the lead- 
ership. Accordingly during the king's residence at 



THE HUSSITE REFORM A TION 393 

Kuttenberg at the end of 1408 the leaders of the Bo- 
hemian nation petitioned him to reverse the order of 
voting, and to confer threa votes on the native na- 
tion, and one vote on the other three. The statutes 
of the university of Paris were appealed to for au- 
thority and example. Hus was the spokesman and 
the leader in this movement. He was at first harslily 
rebuked by the king. But Nicklas of Lobkovice, and 
still more strenuously the French embassy, interceded, 
chiefly in order to draw the king to the side of the 
cardinals at Pisa. The example of the Paris univer- 
sity was again presented. Several compromises, offered 
and debated, were found unavailing, and finally January 
19th, 1409, the three voices were conceded to Bohe- 
mia. The Germans bound themselves with an oath to 
obtain a reversal or abandon the country forever. 
They failed, and on the 9th of May, 1409 the last rec- 
tor of the old university, Henning Baltenhagen, was 
required to surrender the seal, the register, and keys. 
During the same year the master and scholars de- 
parted. From this period Hus assumed a more decid- 
ed position, and became the acknowledged leader of 
the Bohem-ian reformers. 

So long as archbishop Zbinco adhered to Gregory 
Xn. all was well with Hus; and the Wycliffite inter- 
est spread all through the land. Zbinco was even ac- 
cused to the curia by some adherents of Hus; but in 
1409 the archbishop submitted to Alexander V. and 
the situation changed at once. Zbinco sent an em- 
bassy to Rome to represent that all the commotion in 
Bohemia arose from the Wycliffites, and that they 
were favored by the king and the barons. Proceed- 
ings against the archbishop were quashed; and on 
the 2oth of December 1409, a commission was conferred 



394 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

on him to proceed against heretical doctrines. Wy- 
cliffe's books must be hidden from sight ; preaching 
in unusual places was forbidden, and no appeal al- 
lowed. The commission pronounced sentence that 
Wycliffe's books must be burned and preaching in un- 
authorized places forbidden. John XXIII. succeeded 
Alexander V. and resided at Bologna. To him the 
university sent a deputation to resist the burning of 
the books. Very strong remonstrances were urged 
against the destruction of logical, philosophical, mor- 
al, mathematical, theophysical works. Moreover it 
was argued that by the death of Alexander V. Zbinco's 
authority had lapsed. The auto-da-fe of Wycliffe's 
books was carried into effect in the court of the archi- 
episcopal palace in the Hradschin, July i6, 1410. 
More than two hundred manuscript books were con- 
sumed, yet these were only a small proportion of the 
books treasured then in Bohemia as being by Wycliffe. 
"We still have most of them," said Stephen of Do- 
lein, "and are collecting others from every quarter to 
transcribe and then possess them." Two days later 
the excommunication was pronounced against Hus and 
all who had not surrendered their books. Great ex- 
citement succeeded this event. The multitude were 
passionately on the side of Hus and W5'cliffe. Any 
exhibition of sj^mpathy with the auto-da-fe created a 
tumult. Satirical songs were sung in all places. Hus 
vigorously denounced the proceedings, and the people 
vowed to support him. 

The archbishop had not destroyed all or the most 
important of Wycliffe's treatises. At least ten of his 
separate works were possessed, and how many copies 
of each cannot be known, but they were diligently 
transcribed. A codex in the imperial library of Vien- 



THE HUSSITE REFORM A TION 395 

na enumerates more than ninety works of W5'cliffe 
then known in Bohemia. Great literary and contro- 
versial activity ensued. Sermons, discourses, and 
arguments abounded. As the knowledge of practical 
science was then extremely crude, theology occupied 
men's minds. Hus and his many supporters were full 
of energy. Tracts controversial and hortatory were 
issued, manuscripts were multiplied. Advocates of 
Wycliffe's doctrine arose all through the country as 
if all men had thought long and deeply on such sub- 
jects. The Bohemian nation was thoroughly aroused 
and intensely in earnest. The affairs of Hus were en- 
trusted by John XXIII, to four cardinals. A majority 
decided that Wycliffe's books were wrongfully burned ; 
but counter representations craved that Hus should 
be summoned before the curia. John XXIII. com- 
mitted this difficulty to Cardinal Colonna; and he in 
turn directed Zbinco to proceed with all severity, and 
to appeal to the secular arm. Intercessions from 
powerful patrons followed readily ; but in February, 
1411, Colonna placed Hus under excommunication on 
the ground of recusancy; and this proceeding cost the 
archbishop large sums which did not aid to enrich Bo ■ 
hemia, and did not help to exhaust the cardinal's 
coffers. The writ of excommunication was published 
in many churches, refused in others. The citj' coun- 
cil sequestered Zbinco' s temporalities; and on refusal 
to withdraw this writ, the city itself was placed under 
an interdict. The people sustained Hus. In 1411 
the commission against Hus was withdrawn from Co' 
lonna, and transferred to four other cardinals. A court 
of arbitration was next constituted; and consisted of 
Rudolph elector of Saxony, Stibor Wayvode of Tran- 
sylvania, Lacek of Krawar, lord steward, and seven 



396 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

other persons of high rank civil and ecclesiastical ; and 
three days later this body gave judgment that the 
archbishop should submit to the king, and assure the 
pope by an embassy that no heresies existed in Bo- 
hemia, and that the king himself will extirpate errors. 
Excommunications and sequestrations to be withdrawn. 
These formalities were unavailing. Zbinco died in 
September, 141 1, and the movement in Bohemia en- 
tered a still more acute phase. The papacy itself is 
next combated by Hus and his adherents. 

The embassy from Henry IV. of England to Sigis- 
mund in 141 1 with Hartung van Clux at its head intro- 
duced a new element of hostility to the reformers. 
This embassy was attended by the English magister, 
John Stokes, who represented that most dangerous 
element in politics, the direct antagonism of a foreign 
nation to local efforts for improvement, under the 
guidance of a third power that seeks to establish its 
own alien authority. The direct and violent inter- 
vention in the internal affairs of Bohemia by John 
Stokes in the train of the English ambassador was in 
fact the interference by the ambassador himself in 
those affairs. If a third power has the right thus to 
introduce strange elements into any nation, then the 
slavery of mankind is complete. When it became 
known that the Englishmen were in Prague a banquet 
was tendered in their honor, and Stokes was invited 
to the Carolinum. But the latter insolently replied 
in substance that "whoever read Wycliffe's books, or 
made them his study must of necessity in time lapse 
into heresy, however disposed, or sound in the faith 
he might be at the first." This deliberate firebrand 
was caculated as a stroke of policy to conciliate Sig- 
ismund who was already known as a religious zealot. 



THE HUSSITE REFORM A HON 397 

Hus challenged Stokes to discuss the question pub- 
licly, but the latter evaded the encounter. Henry IV. 
had thus cast into Bohemia the same spirit of perse- 
cution which even had cost England very dear in the 
loss of a multitude of excellent subjects, and ere long, 
and under the same dynasty brought her down to the 
verge of destruction. 

The ferment in Prague was intensified by the two 
bulls of 9th of September and 2nd of December, 141 1, 
wherein John XXIII. commanded a crusade against 
Ladislas of Naples, the friend of Gregory XII. Pre- 
cisely at the moment when these missives were re- 
ceived the religious discussion had advanced far 
enough to include the question publicly announced 
"whether any one can believe in the pope." The bulls 
were introduced by Wenzel Tiem, dean of Passau, 
and were accompanied by a large sale of indulgences 
to raise money for the new crusade. The money 
boxes were set up in the cathedral and the churches. 
A brisk trade was established, and the indulgences 
were all farmed out to middle men for deaneries and 
parishes. All this did not tend to promote the ordi- 
nary commerce or trade of Bohemia. The indulgen- 
ces were in fact sold in bulk by auction to the high- 
est bidders. The effect of such a proceeding on a 
people already sensitively excited on the deep and 
touching subjects of personal holiness, and the purity 
of the Gospel, may perhaps be imagined. It was re- 
garded by multitudes with horror, inasmuch as the 
oft announced doctrine emphasized by Wycliffe and 
Hus, that the Holy Ghost and not the priest forgives 
sins, not for money but on repentance, was held as 
the fundamental verity of Christian belief. The per 
petual denunciations of the avarice of the priests and 



398 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

their waste of the public wealth on wars and crimes 
here received a most palpable application. The 
trenchant impeachment of the church by Matthias of 
Cracow, bishop of Worms, was also recalled to mind, 
especially his repeated declaration that "the lapses 
and vices of the clergy are innumerable, and that 
never were there so many antichrists as now." His 
celebrated tract "Of the vilenesses of the Roman 
Curia," composed between 1390 and 1403 was also 
well known.* In this temper of the public mind it 
was to be expected that Hus as the leader should re- 
sist the traffic in indulgences. June 7, 1412, Hus de- 
livered in the Carolinum a great address before a very 
numerous audience on the question "whether it is 
permitted by the word of Christ, and redounds to the 
honor of God, to the welfare of christian people, and 
to the profit of the kingdom, to recommend the pope's 
bulls for the crusade against Ladislas. " Let an an- 
swer be given to this question b}^ the public opinion 
of to-day, and let Hus be judged by that answer. A 
few days after this address the papal bulls were 
burned by a crowd led by Wok of Waldstein, a royal 
favorite. "We must obey the honest Master Hus," 
cried the people, "rather than the deceitful crew of 
adulterers and simonists." 

Wenzel soon grew timid and forbade all re- 
sistance to the pope, and the first blood was shed 
by the decapitation of three humble persons, 
Martin, John and Stanislas,* who openly denounced 
the indulgence as a deception. On the other hand 
the king called on the archbishop to indemnify the 

* De Squaloribus Curiae Romanas." See Walch Monumenta Medii 
r°,vi. Lechlen 1. c. 133. 

* Surnames scarcely existed in Bohemia in that day. 



THE HUSSITE REFORMATION 399 

owners of the burned books, and on his refusal his 
revenues were sequestrated. The public excitement 
continued amid a tempest of argumentation, wherein 
"Dialogue," Trialogue," "De Ecclesia, " the 'Forty- 
Five Articles," "De Absolucione a culpa et a poena," 
and many other works of Wycaffe were continually 
repeated as authorities and almost as revelation re- 
vived. During this commotion, at the request of the 
king, Hus withdrew from Prague. A national sj'nod 
assembled in that capital, 6th February, 1413. In 
the polemics and negotiations that ensued are found 
curiously mingled demands for national independence, 
the supremacy of the crown over approbations and 
condemnations of religious questions in their promul- 
gation to the public, and above all and clearly held up 
the demands of Hus that his principles be judged 
after open and free discussion with his opponents. 
The stigma of "heretic" should be withdrawn until 
its just application should be proved; the interdict 
should be recalled, and the peace sought should be 
based on Christian ethics. The bishop, John of 
Litomysl, on the loth of February, 1413, handed in a 
judgment demanding extreme rigor against Hus, and 
absolute prohibition of his preaching, or that of any 
of his adherents. His writings must be placed under 
anathema. Hus was denounced for endeavoring to 
submit his contention to the national authorities in- 
stead of the supreme port^er of the pope. The synod 
effected nothing. 

During his absence from Prague, Hus studied, wrote, 
and preached.* His correspondence at this period was 

* During this period Hus conferred very great philological services 
on his country by his successful efforts in correcting and beautifying 
the language. 



400 



HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 



voluminous and attached many more firmly to his 
cause. His tracts, especially that "Of the church," 
were widely distributed, and that one was publicly 
read at the Bethlehem, chapel, 8th July, 1413. Wen- 
zel, seeing the vain issue ot the synod, named a com- 
mission of four persons to negotiate an ecclesiastical 
peace. Before this commission both parties were to 
speak and reply, But the wide divergency of opinion 
prevented a reconciliation from the outset. A demand 
was made that the doctors on both sides submit to the 
judgment of the holyRoman church on the sacraments 
and points of catholic faith. To this proposal one 
party replied, — "Yes, if thei7' notion of the church 
whose head is the pope, and whose body are the car- 
dinals be accepted, for only the utterances of this 
church are true. ' The other side replied, — "Yes, if 
is meant that holy Roman church whose head is 
Christ, and of whom the pope is the representative, 
to this church they would yield in. every catholic and 
ecclesiastical matter." This latter party also insisted 
on the continued recognition of the terms of union 
between Zbinco and Hus; the condemnation of the 
burning of Wycliffe's books, and the rejection of the 
forty-five articles, on a declaration that there are no 
clergy in Bohemia who hold heretical opinions; and 
the acceptance of their offer to obey in all things the 
holy church so far as a believing christian is bound 
to obey. This last clause called up a protest and the 
negotiations failed These demands exhibit the extent 
and depth of Waldensian principles that lay latent 
in the minds of the reformers until the occasion gave 
them utterance. Wenzel was exasperated at the fail- 
ure of this effort ; and another Stanislas and Peter of 
Znaim, Stephen of Palec, and Johannes Elia were 



THE HUSSITE REFORAIATION 401 

banished the kingdom. By the withdrawal of these 
special advocates of the papal party Hus and his 
friends enjoyed a clear field. Everything inclined to- 
ward their side, and in this year seventeen Bohemians 
were substituted for an equal number of Germans as 
the city council of Prague. Hus and his co-laborers 
exhibited constant activity in speech and writing ; 
and in his various retreats many tracts and treatises 
were composed wherein the predominant influence and 
mind of Wycliffe are manifest. Hus preached in vil- 
lages and market towns, and his views and doctrines 
received universal acceptance almost as old friends in 
the land. All Bohemia stood at his side, and with 
truth he exclaimed at Constance, — "Truly I have said 
it; freely I came here; and if I had not willed to 
come hither, not that king (Wenzel) and not this king 
(Sigismund) would have been able to force me, for so 
numerous and powerful are the Bohemian nobles who 
love me that I should have been right well able to 
protect myself behind their castle walls." Blind 
Ziska's genius proved a stronger defense than all the 
walled castles in the land. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE AND MARTYRDOM OF HUS. 

We are now brought face to face with the Council 
of Constance and the influence of that great assembly 
on the fortunes of Bohemia. By a bull issued from Lodi, 
Pope John XXIII. fixed the opening of the Council 
for the ist of November, 1414. Hus was still in his 
exile when the date for the Council was fixed. It was 
by no means certain that he would attend; as it be- 
came well known that his enemies had prepared an 
accusation against him. Sigismund, however, dis- 
armed all fear that Hus might have entertained by 
sending to him two of his most faithful adherents, 
John of Chlum and Wenzel of Duba. Hus stipulated 
for a safe conduct, and it was prepared and sent by 
Sigismund. Hus, however, set out on his journey be- 
fore the document reached him. On his way he was 
received by populations and magistrates with accla- 
mation and every public token of respect and interest. 
He preached everywhere, and created profound sym- 
pathy, November ist Hus approached Constance, and 
here he received the safe conduct. This document, 
in all respects most memorable is here produced: — 

"Sigismund, by the grace of God, king of the Ro- 
mans, ever exalted, to all and each the princes, ec- 

402 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 403 

clesiastical and secular, dukes and marquises, earls, 
barons, nobles, chiefs, knights, men at arms, squires, 
captains, mayors, governors, presidents and public 
officials whomsoever, of states, towns, villages, the 
communities of districts, and the magistrates of the 
same, and all others owing subjection and fidelity to 
us and the holy empire, to whom these presents may 
come, royal grace and every blessing. 

"Venerable, illustrious, noble, faithful and beloved, 
we recommend unreservedly to you all and to each of 
you, the honorable master John Hus, bachelor of sa- 
cred theology, and master of arts, who exhibits these 
presents and is passing from the kingdom of Bohemia 
to the general council to be publicly conducted during 
the ensuing month in the city of Constance, whom 
we have taken into the protection and guardianship 
of ourselves and of the holy empire, desiring you to 
courteously receive, and .kindly entertain him as far 
as possible, when he shall arrive among you, and to 
exhibit your good will cheerfully and dutifully in pro- 
viding those means which shall pertain to the speed 
and safety of his journey by land and water, and be- 
sides himself to his attendants, horses, and all his 
other property, permitting him to pass all gates, 
bridges, districts, territories, jurisdictions, cities, 
town«;, castles, villages, and all other localities ap- 
pertaining to you without payment of any tax, or toll, 
or the burden of any cost, every hindrance being with- 
drawn, and that 5'ou will permit him and his to pass, 
sojourn and return freely, and that you will cheerfully 
and dutifully provide for his secure and safe conduct 
to the honor and respect due to our majesty. 

"Given at Spires in the year of our Lord MCCCC 
XIV., day of October XVIIL, in the year of our reign 



404 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

over our own kingdom and Hungary XXXIII., but 
over the Romans the V.*" 

November 4th John of Chlum and Wenzel of Duba 
visited the pope and informed him that they had 
brought Magister Hus under safe conduct from the 
king of the Romans; and the pope promised to allow 
no violence toward him. November 28th the bishops 
of Augsburg and Trent, the burgomaster of Constance, 
and a nobleman visited Hus and treacherously an- 
nounced that the cardinals were ready to grant him a 
hearing. Hus repaired to the pope's palace and after 
a short conversation the cardinals retired and Hus was 
left in the hands of the armed guards. While Hus 
continued thus in custody he was visited by a stranger 
who represented himself as a simple Minorite monk 
who asked some most deep and abstruse questions. 
Hus declared to John of Chlum who was present that 
his visitor was not so simple as he seemed; then turn- 
ing to the stranger, "Brother, you say that you are 
simple (simplex); but I consider that you are double" 
(duplex). The pope's attendants informed Hus that 
the monk was Magister Didacus a most subtle theolo- 
gian of Lombardy. 

Vigorous protest was made to the pope and council 

* This safe conduct was written in two languages and was therefore 
of exceptional importance. As Sigismund hated the Bohemian tongue, 
and always used the German, the second language was presumably 
the latter. In the enumeration of the injuries wantonly inflicted on 
Bohemia by Sigismund drawn up in 142 1 by the barons and estates 
the first accusation is as follows: — "Inprimis is, quia magistrum Joan- 
nem Hus, sub salvo conductu duplici lingua descripto, damnari ad 
mortem permisit: Immo ipsum primus ore proprio majestate sedens, 
condemnavit, in gravem injuriam et ofiensam et linguam Bohemor- 
um." That is, "First, because he permitted Master John Hus, then 
under safe conduct written in two languages, to be condemned to 
death, nay more, he, sitting in majesty, first with his own lips con- 
demned him, to the great injury, offense, and wrong of the Bohemi- 
ans." Art. Exces. Anno. 1421, Gold., app. LVHI. 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 405 

of the treacherous violation of the safe conduct; but 
the subject was evasively referred to the emperor when 
he should arrive. Hus was imprisoned in a monastery 
of the Franciscans, and after a time in another monas- 
tery of the Dominicans, where the sewer foulness se- 
riously threatened his life, and guarded by the pope's 
servants to prevent any attempt at rescue. Hus' ad- 
versaries gloated over their success, especially Mich- 
ael de Causis and brother Peter, preachers at Prague, 
dancing around the stove and exclaiming,— "Ha ha, we 
have him now. He will not escape from us until he 
has paid the last farthing." The pope himself denied 
that he had caused the arrest, deceitfully saying "They 
surrendered him to me, and it was incumbent on me 
to set him in prison." The pope added, "You know 
how my affairs stand with them;" meaning that he had 
imprisoned Hus against his own promises in order 
tliereby to seek favor with the cardinals who had 
threatened to depose him. But after John XXHI. had 
himself been condemned, — March 20th, 1415, for in- 
cest, adulter,}', defilement, homicide, and atheism, and 
had confessed these crimes without defense, he discov- 
ered that his treachery to Hus availed him nothing. 
In January, 141 5 the Bohemian nobles forwarded an 
indignant and forcible remonstrance to the council, 
but it was wholly disregarded. John of Chlum and 
others frequently reproached the cardinals with their 
baseness, but without effect. 

Hus was produced before the Council for his first 
audience, June 5th; but his voice was totally inaudi- 
ble in the outcries. His next so-called audience oc- 
curred two days later, and his third appearace was on 
the next day. Hus had submitted to the council in the 
expectation that he should have an opportunity to be 



4o6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

heard in explanation of his opinions But his accusers 
entertained no such intention. He was brought to 
Constance to be condemned, not to be tried. The 
accusations against him were ^ registered early, and in 
fact had been prepared before the Council sat. 

The emperor heard of the violation of his safe con- 
duct, and wrote to his envoys commanding them to in- 
sist on the immediate liberation of the prisoner. The 
order was evaded. On his arrival the emperor was 
reproached by the Bohemian nobles for permitting the 
violation. Sigismund blushed in his shame. That 
blush saved Luther a hundred years later. But Sigis- 
mund' s conduct throughout was wholly treacherous 
and hypocritical. 

Only unconditional retraction was offered to Hus; 
but he replied that he was conscious of neither crime 
nor error. The chief accusations were that he in- 
sisted on the necessity of communion under both 
kinds; that after consecration there remained bread 
and wine; that any one in a state of grace could ad- 
minister the sacraments; that priests had not the 
power so long as they were in sin; that the church 
did not consist of pope, cardinals and clergy but of 
the elect; that it should have no temporalities which 
on the contrar}' the lords were bound to take from it; 
that all priests were of equal authority; that the cen- 
sures of the church were not binding. 

The outcry on the violation of the safe conduct 
was repeatedly heard, and the emperor became seri- 
ously disquieted and quitted Constance. But he was 
persuaded by a deputation, without much difficulty, 
that it was necessary to the freedom of the council. 
Ferdinand of Aragon also represented that he ought 
not to rescue a heretic from death, because of his safe 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 407 

conduct, since it is not breaking faith with him who 
had broken faith with God. In order to satisfy the 
emperor'spretended scruples, or silence his enemies if 
posible, the council passed the shameless decree that 
no faith was to be kept with heretics. They also 
passed a second decree referring to the safe conduct 
given to Hus. The former is thus expressed : 

"The present holy Council, as to an}^ safe conduct 
by the emperor, declares that if kings and other secu- 
lar princes have obligated themselves, by any bond 
whatever, to heretics or persons publicly accussd of 
heresy, thinking to reclaim them from their errors in 
this manner, that nothing prejudicial to the catholic 
faith, or ecclesiastical jurisdiction is hereby created, 
and no hindrance thereto can be or ought to be there- 
by afforded; and that notwithstanding any safe con- 
duct, it shall bfe lawful for a competent ecclesiastical 
judge to inquire concerning the errors of such persons, 
and to proceed against them otherwise in due form^ 
and to punish the same as justice shall require, if they 
shall obstinately refuse to retract their errors, although 
they may have repaired to the place trusting to a safe 
conduct when otherwise they would not have come. " 

An assembly capable of enacting such a decree, could 
have felt no hesitation in condemning Hus without 
permitting any defense; and the assembled prelates 
openly announced their right to deal with a person 
accused of heresy as superior to the emperor's right 
to afford protection to a subject. In fact they mocked 
his authority, which was never seriously exercised. 
Sigismund had from the moment of his arrival de- 
clared his determination to root out this accursed 
heresy. Being reproached for bad grammar in his dec- 
laration he said, — "I am king of the Romans and 
above grammar." 



4o8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

In addition to the wrathful spirit in the bishops and 
monks present excited by the denunciations of their 
vices by Hus, the abstruse and virulent, and all the 
more virulent because abstruse, controversy between 
the Nominalists and the Realists, then at its height 
in Europe, created party fury. Each sect on every oc- 
casion that offered accused the other of heresy and 
impiety, and inflicted punishment accordingly. The 
leading spirit of the Council, John Gerson, was the 
leader of the Nominalists, and Wycliffe had been the 
chief advocate of the Realists. Hus was his disciple, 
and now stood before the enraged nominalist doctor 
in all his helplessness. The opportunity was too pre- 
cious to be lost. Stokes urged Hus to retract uncon- 
ditionally, stating that the magistrates in England 
accused of Wycliffism, although good men, did not hesi- 
tate to retract at the order of the bishop. Hus de- 
clared that he knew of no crime or error to retract. 
After the close of the session of the 8th of June, Sig- 
ismund addressed the fathers about him urging the 
destruction of Hus without accepting any recantation; 
asserting that he had many followers in Bohemia, 
Poland and other lands. This perjured declaration 
cost Sigismund the crown of Bohemia. Hus' books 
were condemned to the flames. July 6th Hus himself 
was led from his prison to the Council then sitting in 
the church, and was introduced by four bishops. The 
bishop of Concordia read a decree of excommunication 
and two months imprisonment pronounced against 
any man who should presume to speak, move, or tes- 
tify applause or condemnation of the solemn act about 
to take place. Fifty eight articles from Hus' writings 
were then condemned, and Has himself degraded. 
Being arrayed in sacerdotal habit with chalice in his 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 409 

hands and exhorted to retract Hus replied that he was 
unconscious of any heresy or crime. The chalice was 
then taken from him by bishops who cursed him as 
Judas. His sacerdotal garments were stripped off, his 
hair cut into the form of a cross in order to obliterate 
all possible resemblance to a tonsure, a tall paper cap 
with three devils pictured on it, and the word Here- 
siarch inscribed, was placed on his head. By order 
of Sigismund he was taken by the elector Palatine to 
the magistrates as a mock delivery to the secular power. 
Hus was condemned in form of words to be forthwith 
burned at the stake. The elector ordered the execu- 
tioner to do his office. Hus was tied to a stake with 
his face to the west. Again he was exhorted to re- 
tract; but his faith was firm. The fagots were kind- 
led; but the victim was suffocated by the smoke be- 
fore the fire reached him. Only the dead body of 
John Hus was burned at the stake. His small posses- 
sions, two coats of good cloth, a girdle with a silver- 
gilt clasp, two side knives in a sheath, and a leather 
pouch were also carefully burned.* 

* The most severe and emphatic statement of the direct' interfer- 
ence of Sigismund to procure the death of Hus is made by ^neas 
Sylvius. Speaking of Sigismund expressly he says: — "Ivannem ac 
Hieronymum in Constantiensi Concilio cremari nonsolum permisisset, 
verum etiam procurasset, dogmata fidei quae ipsi sequerentur, totis 
conatibus oppugnaret." That is — "At the Council of Constance he 
had not only permitted, but even had procured the burning of John 
and Jerome; and with all his might he assailed the dogmas of faith 
that they followed." Jineas Sylv. Hist. Boh., cap. 39. Goldast De 
Boh. Reg. Lib. VI., c. XIII. §. 10, In his address to the council 
Sigismund said "Reverend fathers, you have heard that out of the 
many things which are in his books, and which he has admitted, and 
which have been sufficiently proved against him any one would have 
been sufficient for his condemnation. If th -refore he will not recant 
and abjure and make statements contrary to those errors, let him be 
burnt, or do with him as you best know according to your laws * * 
Therefore make an end also with his other secret disciples and favor- 
ers * * and especially with that, — that fellow who is detained 
here in prison." They said "Jerome? ' He said "Yes Jerome." 



41 o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The Council on the other hand, unmoved by the an- 
gry protests of the nation, continued its persecutions. 
A general excommunication was pronounced against 
the followers of Hus. Their churches were seized, 
and in many cases destroyed leaving only the founda- 
tions level with the ground. Here the people often 
assembled and knelt in prayer on the broken ruins hal- 
lowed by martyrs' devotion. Women bearing young 
children knelt and wept on the dismal remnants of 
those houses of worship where their marriage vows 
had been taken and their babies admitted into the 
unity of christians. The prisons became too few to 
contain the multitudes apprehended; and the crowd- 
ing and foul air drove thousands into the frenzy of mad- 
ness. Money freely offered for information of the re- 
treats of Hussite followers introduced the pursuers 
evervwhere. Hundreds disappeared in the deep mines 
of Kuttenberg. Many others died by drowning or by 
fire. A great army of martyrs arose; and 3'et the na- 
tion continued Hussite still more intensely than be- 
fore. One Hussite pastor, after much violent suffer- 
ing, being placed on the pile with three peasants and 
four children, and exhorted to abjure, replied, "God 
perserve us from it! We are ready to suffer death not 
once only, but if it were possible, even a hundred 
times rather than deny the divine truth which has been 
so clearly revealed to us in the Gospel." The pile 
being lighted the pastor took the children within his 
arms, joined with them in a hymn, and all were con- 
sumed together. 

Even in remote places the Hussites became the ob- 
jects of fanatical pursuit. A mercliant of Prague, 
named Krasa, having uttered language upholding the 
doctrine of Hus at once became a prisoner at Breslav. 




John Zizka. 



COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 411 

The day following a student fron:i Prague was shut up 
in the same dungeon. The student being 5'oung and 
despondent the merchant cheered him, saying, "My 
brother, how highly are we honored that we are called 
to bear public testimony to our Lord. The conflict 
is short; the reward eternal. Let us think bn the bet- 
ter death of our Savior, and the sufferings of the many 
martyrs for the truth." Such cruelties caused the iron 
to enter into the soul of Bohemia, and made the na- 
tion omnipotent, until disunion on doctrinal theses be- 
tween the chief parties broke the power of both. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE COUNCIL CONTINUED, RELIGIOUS AGITATION. 

In the year 1417 the fathers of the Council prescribed 
a series of XXIV. Articles intended to withdraw the 
Bohemians from the Hussite heres}'. 

I. That the king of Bohemia shall swear to confirm 
in their liberties the Roman church and other churches 
subject to his authorit}'^, and shall not impose upon 
clergy or religious the troublous conditions introduced 
by Wycliffe or the Hussites. 

II. That all magistrates and priests who have 
spread heresies and errors by dogmatizing or. preach- 
ing in the aforesaid kingdom and have infected others 
with the same shall abjure the errors of the same John 
Wycliffe and John Hus condemned by this sacred 
Council, and shall repudiate all that they have 
preached or laid down as dogmas; and this very con- 
demnation of doctrines and persons they shall pub- 
licly, and clad in a white sheet, approve and pronounce 
just. 

III. That those who have not obeyed in the matter 
of faith, and have not cared to obey, but have been 
obstinate in their sentiments, shall abjure, and those 
who have not obeyed censures, through contempt of 
the power of the keys, for a year or more shall suffer 
condign punishment. 

IV. That the seculars who have adhered to the 
Wycliffites and Hussites, and have defended and 

412 



THE COUNCIL CONTINUED 413 

protected them shall swear to adhere to them no long- 
er, and to pursue them, and not shelter them ; and 
shall approve and ratify the act of this Council con- 
cerning the condemnation of John Wycliffe and John 
Hus ; likewise concerning the condemnation of per- 
sons. 

V. That the seculars who have despoiled the clergy 
shall be compelled to make restitution because their 
offense is not released; and that they bind themselves 
and swear not to impede further the liberty of the 
church. 

VI. That those who have been expelled from be- 
nefices be restored to their benefices and the intruders 
be expelled and punished. 

VII. That all and singular profane persons, either 
those in favor of the Wycliffites, or in temporal mat- 
ters, be punished according to legal sanctions, lest 
contempt of the keys should be approved or seem to 
be approved. 

VIII. That all who have promoted the cause of 
faith in the Curia and outside be restored to their 
benefices, and shall have guarantee for residence in 
the kingdom. But if they have refused so to act, and 
shall not have acted effectively, this fact is an indica- 
tion that they do not intend to return. Those who 
induce them to change their plans — if they had been 
indeed penitent, ought to cherish all such and confess 
that they have themselves been seduced into error. 

IX. That relics removed and other church furni- 
ture and the treasured offerings at Prague be restored 
as before, and other portables be returned whether re- 
moved from this church or other churches throughout 
the kingdom of Bohemia and marquisate of Moravia. 

X. That the university of Prague be reformed and 



414 



HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 



the Wycliffites who have destroyed it be strictly pun- 
ished and expelled. Otherwise, if the university be not 
reformed and the Wycliffites and Hussites rule therein 
these errors will not cease. 

XI. That the chief heresiarchs and doctors of that 
sect shall be compelled to appear before the Curia and 
the Apostolic chair. They are these : —John Jessentz, 
Jacobellus de Misna, Simon de Tysna, Symon de 
Rockinzano, Christian de Brachalitz, John Cardinal, 
Zdenko de Loben, provost of All Saints, Zdislaus de 
Suiertitz and Michal de Czisko. 

XII. That all seculars who have communicated un- 
der both kinds, or have induced others to do so, and 
especially since the prohibition of the sacred council, 
shall abjure this heresy, and shall swear not to pro- 
mote, but to their utmost to impede such communion. 

XIII. That to presbyters and others ordained by 
Master Hermann, suffragan of the archbishop of 
Prague, won over by Master Zenko of Wartemberg, 
no dispensation shall be granted but they shall be 
sent before the Apostolic chair. 

XIV. That the tracts of John Wycliffe's translated 
into the common tongue by John Hus and Jacobellus, 
and other tracts issued by them in the common tongue 
in which they have inserted their errors, shall be, all 
and singular, deposited in the hands of Legate or Or- 
dinary under penalty of excommunication. If these 
be not removed errors will not cease. 

XV. That the heretical tracts of John Hus con- 
demned in this sacred Council shall be consigned to 
the same named persons under penalty of excommuni- 
cation. 

XVI. That all the tracts of Jacobellus composed 
concerning both kinds, and concerning Antichrist, in 



THE COUI^CIL CONTINUED 415 

which he calls the pope Antichrist, shall be deposited 
with the same persons and burned. Likewise the 
tracts issued by him concerning the remanence of the 
bread on the altar after consecration. 

XVII. That all songs introduced to the prejudice of 
the Sacred Council and of catholics of every station 
who have opposed Wycliffites and Hussites, or songs 
in praise of John Hus and Jerome the condemned her- 
etics shall be prohibited from being sung in all states, 
villages and towns and private residences under the 
severest penalty, 

XVIII. Strict prohibition is issued that in all 
quarters the word of God be not preached b}' the clergy 
without mission b}' the Ordinary and without the au- 
thority of the Plebani. Since how shall they preach 
unless they are sent?'^ 

XIX. That Ordinaries and other prelates having 
jurisdiction shall not be impeded in the exercise of 
their jurisdiction by any secular under pain of excom- 
munication. For if that accursed heresy ought to be 
eradicated it is proper that power be freely exercised 
against spirituals and seculars suspected of heresy or 
errors, or of favoring condemned persons. 

XX. That command is hereby issued to all and 
singular to obey the subjoined orders under pain of 
excommunication, that whoever has assisted any Hus- 
site orWycliffite or their doctrine, or has been inti- 
mate with them, and become acquainted with their 
condemned books shall denounce them to the diocesan 
or his ofBcials who shall proceed against them accord- 
ing to canonical decrees. 

XXI. That the league which seculars have made 

* The hideous perversion of the text here quoted is extremely im- 
proper. 



41 6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

with seculars and spirituals to the prejudice of the 
sacred council of the Apostolic chair and Roman 
church in favor of those condemned heretics, John Hus 
and Jerome and the preachers of that sect shall be 
dissolved under the severest penalties. Of this league 
clear proof is contained in the open decrees decided 
by the sacred Council. 

XXII. That the rites and ceremonies of the chris- 
tian religion be observed concerning divine worship, 
images, and veneration of relics. Violators of these 
shall be punished. 

XXIII. That all and singular the spirituals and 
seculars who shall preach, inculcate, or defend, the 
errors or heresies of John Wycliffe and John Hus con- 
demned in the sacred council of Constance, and all 
who shall pronounce or maintain John Hus and Jerome 
as catholic persons or saints, and shall be convicted 
thereof, shall themselves be punished by fire as here- 
tics. 

XXIV. That all seculars when admonished and 
exhorted by the ordinaries against actual violations of 
the above shall be held to afford aid and; favor to 
them under penalty of confession of heresy. 

Wenzel forbade the publication of these articles in 
his dominions; and Cardinal John Dominici who came 
with a mission to employ the civil power to extermi- 
nate the Hussites was expelled from the country. This 
exhibition of manliness united Bohemia to Wenzel, 
§xen with men who had opposed him for twenty years. 
A complete reconciliation was effected between the 
king and the nobles. On the other hand the university 
was not idle. Under Calixtine influence a series of 
thirteen articles was drawn up formulating a code of 
religious tenets intended to compose differences. 



THE COUNCIL CONTINUED 417 

This compromise forbade I. new dogmas. 11. The 
afifirmation of a belief only in what is clear in Scrip- 
ture. Hi. Extended communion to infants at bap- 
tism. (That is a small morsel of the bread and a 
drop of the wine were to be placed in the infant's 
mouth). IV. Upheld purgatory. V. Also masses for 
souls. VI. Also prayers for the dead. VII. Invoca- 
ions of saints also. VIII. An oath in weighty con- 
cerns. IX. Capital punishment for incorrigible crim- 
inals. X. Forbade the laity to consecrate the sacra- 
ment. XI. Upheld confession and extreme unction. 

XII. Upheld pictures, relics, fasts, saints' days. 

XIII. Limited the Bohemian language in church to 
the gospel and epistle. All these except the cup were 
rejected by the Taborites, and the compromise only 
widened the breach. 

Sigismund having returned to Constance attempted 
to remind the Council of the promised reform in the 
church. The cardinals insisted first on the restoration 
of the supreme authority of the pope — now Martin V. 
elected to replace the contestants for that office. The 
French, Italian and Spanish cardinals voted for the 
latter proposition — the German and English for the 
former. The emperor's persistent determination to 
root out the "accursed lieresy" as he styled it, became 
his absorbing passion. He was henceforth the obe- 
dient instrument and second self of the church, its 
"image," its silhouette, that reproduced its features 
with exactness without being itself, and exhibited 
those features with precision before the eyes of man- 
kind. He was the first to kiss pope Martin's foot on 
his election. 

The following year, 1418, Sigismund wrote an open 
letter to his brother reproaching him with his irreso- 



41 8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lution and weakness in permitting divisions to in- 
crease in Bohemia, and warning him of the disastrous 
consequences. A crusade was threatened against Bo- 
hemia, and Wenzel was invited to a meeting at Saka- 
litz in Hungary for the gth of February, 1419, to dis- 
cuss the destruction of the Hussites. Wenzel perceived 
the snare; he had been already seized twice by his 
brother, and he did not attend. But the king took 
alarm. He restored many of the banished priests; 
and the most popular reformer, John Jessentz, was 
banished. 

These edicts created great commotion. The 
magistrates entreated that three churches in Prague 
should be set apart for utraquist communion; 
and the privilege was allowed. The people generally 
saw the old forms restored with feelings of resent- 
ment. The schools also created dissension. The peo- 
ple claimed that the schools were their own, and in- 
sisted on the control of them. Some disorders arose, 
and two Hussite teachers were killed. Threats from 
without and commotions within his kingdom estranged 
Wenzel's mind from his former friends and attend- 
ants, and the palace became no longer their chief 
place of meeting. The king withdrew to his own for- 
tress at Wenzestein; and henceforth became alienated 
from his people. 

Two of the king's chosen friends, Nicholas of Pist- 
na, called Hussinetz from his estates at that place, and 
John of Trocnow a knight well known for his prowess 
in war ,and his ability, and bearing still fresh upon him 
the honors of Agincourt where his mace was wielded 
before the eyes of Henry V. of England, had already 
been marked as the zealous friends of the followers 
of Hus, one of them — Pistna — having been the chief 



THE COUNCIL CONTINUED 419 

supporter of Hus himself during his exile from 
Prague. Wenzel noticed a deepening gloom on the 
brow of Ziska* and said to him "Yanko, what is the 
matter with you?" Ziska replied, "What Bohemian 
can exhibit a cheerful spirit when he sees his people 
denounced as outcasts and heretics, outraged and per- 
secuted, and Bohemia's most distinguished men 
burned as malefactors in a foreign land." The king 
replied, "John, my friend, what shall we say to this? 
What is to be done? Suggest a remedy to make mat- 
ters right again. If you know of one, so let it be. 
We cheerfully give our consent." 

During the same year the king issued an order for 
the disarmament of the people of Prague, a favorite 
measure that was subsequently adopted in other coun- 
tries under similar circumstances; but; failed disas- 
trously under James II, of England. Ziska interposed 
and stated to the king that the burghers were always 
ready at his command to use their property and their 
lives in" his defense against his enemies. This polite 
assertion of the ancient prerogative of the nation hap- 
pily succeeded. 

The royal commander experienced much difficulty 
in restoring the banished priests; and as the ejected 
ones on their return employed very harsh measures 
the land was filled* with complaints and irritation. 
The menaces of the Council, the changed attitude of 
Wenzel, the quarrels through the country parishes, 
and the exclusion of the people from the churches 
created so profound a sense of discontent and ap- 
proaching danger that the reformers at Austi selected 
the strong post of the hill afterward named Tabor, 
and fortified it as a refuge in case of need. This po- 

* See Leger p. 22, Pelzel I. 316. 



420 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

sition formed a natural fortress ; and here in the sum- 
mer of 1419, the people encamped to worship God 
freely under the open sky. 

July 22nd of this year a great congreg'ation was 
called together on the hill ; and from all parts of Bo- 
hemia and Moravia a multitude of more than forty 
thousand assembled. This meeting created strong 
religious enthusiasm and strengthened the hearts of 
all engaged. It was a religious camp meeting in the 
most comprehensive sense. Preaching, processions, 
singing, praying, communion, led every day by a diff- 
erent pastor from the preceding, and religious rejoic- 
ing of the most peaceable but exhiliarating descrip- 
tion filled the days. All were "brethren" and "sisters," 
and all were happy together. 

The contentions in Prague resulted in the forcible 
suppression of Hussite instruction in the schools; and 
the complete surrender of the latter to the catholic 
part}'. The Hussite books were corrupted and filled 
with catholic pictures. A procession through the 
streets was overwhelmed with stones thrown from the 
windows of the city hall where a Catholic council had 
been installed by the king. The hall was stormed 
under Ziska's leadership. Seven councillors were 
flung from the windows. The city was in a turmoil. 
Wen^el vowed vengeance against the entire Hussite 
sect; but his days were numbered. The king grew 
gloomy and sick; and an apoplexy carried him off 
August 16, 1419. A silent interment in the night of 
September 12, laid Wenzel IV. to rest in the Dom- 
church. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR. 

Public order and discipline in the city of Prague, 
greatly shaken by the events of July 30, were almost 
shattered by the death of Wenzel. Respect for the 
royal authority alone had induced submission to the 
Catholic minority. But the wrongs recently commit- 
ted against the great majority under the shield of the 
king's power created a sense of impatience. The an- 
ger of the population declared itself, when the restrain- 
ing hand was withdrawn. The discontented elements 
of the old city were at once directed against the or- 
naments, organs, pictures, and other peculiar furniture 
of the churches. These were all torn down with a 
-fierceness new to the people in such matters. Such 
decorations, regarded as of very inferior religious 
importance, were now detested as being made the 
symbols of a tyranny that menaced the safety of the 
nation by being thrust on a reluctant people. In fact 
the power of Rome, introduced and maintained through 
the churches, and extended from them to the civil 
government, had always been regarded as an alien in- 
trusion. Priests, monks and friars fled or concealed 
themselves. Many of their adherents followed, and 
took refuge in fortresses. A spirit of rapine demon- 
strated the ebullient wrath of the people. Monasteries 
were broken up, and the contents of their larders and 
cellars distributed. Palaces were burned. Public 

421 



422 HIS TOR Y OF B OH EM I A 

assignation houses openly encouraged by the late gov- 
ernment were torn down. But as yet no bloodshed. 
Pisek, Pilsen, Koniggratz and many other towns fol- 
lowed the example. 

Sigismund watched these proceedings from Ofen, 
his Hungarian capital. He was pressed at once by a 
threatened war with the Turks, a quarrel with Ven- 
ice, and another between Poland and the Teutonic 
order. Queen Sophia was appointed regent of Bohe- 
mia with a council of barons, and a guard of twenty- 
four distinguished knights of the order of the Dragon. 

The Bohemian diet soon assembled. Religious 
troubles demanded first attenion; but civil needs were 
not neglected. A demand for the redress of grievances 
was formulated. It contained a demand for commun- 
ion under both kinds in all the churches, protested 
against the charge of heresy imputed to the utraquists 
and the penalty of banishment attached thereto; de- 
manded the withdrawal of all prohibition of the chal- 
ice by any secular power; required the severe punish- 
ment of simony; insisted that all papal bulls must 
be first published in the king's council; forbade the 
trial of any Bohemian before a foreign tribunal; de- 
manded the freedom of the university; confirmation 
of ancient privileges of the nation; affirmed the rights 
of succession in all estates; abolished illegal taxes; 
subjected foreigners in Bohemia to the domestic au- 
thorities; prohibited German magistrates being ap- 
pointed over Bohemian districts; and finally required 
all official and legal proceedings to be conducted in 
the native tongue. 

These demands, constituting a just and constitu- 
tional bill of rights has ever since formed the model 
on which other parliaments have framed their claims. 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 423 

The queen solemnly promised to consider these arti- 
cles, and to do what should be just and right. The 
diet did what every diet iiad done for centuries on the 
accession of a new sovereign. 

■ Contending sentiment speedily combined to form 
two great parties One voted with the king in all 
things; the other voted with him in politics but not 
in church affairs. The mass of the people were Hus- 
sites. 

Throughout the country camp-meetings were held 
in numerous strong places, and attended b}' crowds. 
The people exhibited an extraordinary zeal and devo- 
tion for such assemblies; and were led thither as well 
by religious devotion as by certain astrological indi- 
cations, much cultivated and confided in at that period 
by kings and priests, nobles and popes. October 6th 
a counter league to destroy heresy was formed by the 
queen and some barons. On the other hand Nicholas 
of Hus, known as Hnssinetz, and John of Trocnow, 
commonly styled Zizka, established among their ad- 
herents a perpetual alliance for their own protection. 
These proceedings inspired men with zeal for combi- 
nation, and ardor for military exercises. 

Religious sentiment, however, threatened to under- 
mine these arrangements. The principle of non-resist- 
ance operated on many minds; and the leaders sol- 
emnly submitted the question of the legality of the 
sword under such conditions to the university doctors. 
The decision authorized force to repel cruel aggres- 
sion arid tyrannical oppression. 

During the preparations that went forward at this 
conjuncture Zizka's high renown for military prowess, 
arid his known talents rendered him especially con- 
spicuous. The position of military commander was 



424 If IS TOR Y OF B O HE MI A 

universally conceded to him. War was foreseen and 
prepared for with all the science of the time. They 
knew Sigismund and he knew them. The queen's 
party garrisoned the castle of Wysehrad and other 
points with Germans and menaced Prague; but Octo- 
ber 25th, Ziska stormed the fortress and-set his own 
garrison therein. A great meeting to take measures 
for national defense was called for Novem.ber loth; but 
the queen's troops were posted to prevent all approach. 
This intelligence aroused Prague. The royal quarter 
was attacked; the Hussites from without assailed and 
crushed the queen's detachments; the palace was 
stormed, and after two days' fighting and much de- 
struction of buildings was firmly secured. The Hus- 
site war had begun. Troops were levied in all di- 
rections. The German town of Kuttenberg was the chief 
catholic stronghold; and around this place the Hus- 
sites were murdered in great numbers and their head- 
less bodies flung into ditches. Many were sold for 
slaves; and in this mountainous region within a short 
time, 1,600 men were massacred. To one open mine 
pit the satirical name Tabor was applied, and here 
hundreds were flung down and dashed to pieces. The 
massacres here numbared more than five thousand; 
and were instigated and stimulated as well by jeal- 
ousy of the Bohemian miners, as by national antipa- 
thy which converted the prevailing religious intoler- 
ance into an excuse. 

From Kuttenberg the executioners marched to Kou- 
rim, also a mining region; and here similar atrocities 
were perpetrated. The Pilsen district witnessed sim- 
ilar sanguinary scenes, and the preacher, John Nek- 
vasa, was cruelly tortured and burned. 

Sigismund soon returned from the East and called 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 425 

a diet at Briinn. This proceeding was a failure ; and 
on the 24th of December he retired to Hungary with 
a great train of nobles and attendants including the 
papal legate, Ferdinand bishop of Lucca. Sigismund 
next deprived the Hussite nobles of their ofifices, and 
bestowed them on catholics. In January, 1420, the 
magistracy of Prague by order of the king restored 
the ejected priests; ordered all street chains to be re- 
moved and all entrenchments leveled and the church 
ornaments to be restored as before. The city castle 
which formed the general place of security for private 
valuables, and hitherto had been honorably open to 
the citizens for tliat purpose, was now in the hands 
of the king's party, and closed against the owners of 
every thing deposited therein. The Hussites on the 
other hand found themselves in a very dangerous sit- 
uation, especially as Sigismund's combinations had 
created a political re-action against them. Opinions 
were divided. Preachers in their excited state of mind 
foresaw the speedy end of the world and the coming of 
Christ. Under such influences the poor simple folk 
sold their little possessions in many districts of Bohe- 
mia and Moravia; and "laid the money at the feet" of 
the preachers. At the head of the war part}' stood 
Zizka and around him many nobles. The leader of 
the opposite faction was Bohuslav of Schwamberg at 
the head of 2,000 men raised chiefly in his own neigh- 
borhood. Many of these were knights in armor. Both 
parties actively increased their forces. Tabor formed 
one principal stronghold, Pisek another. The latter 
was invested by the king's troops. Zizka advanced 
to its relief with a force greatly inferior in number; 
but his march was conducted with great celerity. 
Fortifying himself behind his wagons on the margin 



42 6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of a pond near Sudomer, his opponents were com- 
pelled to dismount in order to attack. They were 
decisively repulsed with slaughter. Next day Zizka's 
reinforcements arrived, and Pisek was relieved. Tabor 
speedily became the chief fortress of the Hussites, 
and their seat of government. During the following 
months Sigismund attempted feebly to obtain some 
concessions concerning the cup from the pope; but 
the latter, ist March, 1420, issued the bull Omnium 
plasmatoris domini for the extirpation of Wyclffites, 
Hussites, and other heretics. 

In Prague much uncertainty prevailed. Many cath- 
olic families withdrew; and the Hussites now unop- 
posed drew up a manifesto at the suggestion of the 
preacher, John of Selan. This manifesto was directed 
against all crusaders and severely denounced the pres- 
ent tyrannical attitude of the catholic church which 
it stigmatized as no longer mother but stepmother. 
It formed the foundation of a union for defense agaiqst 
all aggressors, and pledged "goods and blood" in the 
utraquist cause. Hearts beat strong with religious hope 
and confidence in a cause divine. At this juncture 
Cenekv of Wartenberg, hitherto a zealous ro3'alist ex- 
hibited most timely and conspicuous zeal for the na- 
tional cause. He returned his insignia of office, and 
of knighthood in the Dragon order to the king; as 
first burggraf of Prague he formed a close alliance 
with the citizens, and garrisoned the salient points 
with his troops. Through all Bohemia and Moravia 
he sounded the cry of the nation's danger; and la- 
bored to unite all men under the people's banner 
against Sigismund the enem}^ of his country; and now 
so wide and determined became the revolt against 
Sigismund, among nobles and people, that an offer of 
the crown was made to Vladislav of Poland. 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 427 

The churches attracted a daily increasing popular 
enmity as they were regarded as the insidious wedge 
that had been thrust into the country to split it asun- 
der. These edifices were adorned with all splendor. 
They shone with jewels and ornaments, magnificent 
apparel and architectural decorations. I^ofty windows 
filled with stained glass shed attractive light; and all 
the furnishings ministered to the service of sumptuous 
display. All this was now condemned as the means 
whereby the hearts of Bohemians had been stolen too 
long from their own country, and made the servants 
of their deceivers now become their open oppressors. 
The zeal of the Bohemians, half national and half relig- 
ious, spared nothing, and the churches were surren- 
dered to the flames. The Roman church was never na- 
tive in Bohemia. 

The feelings of the citizens of Prague were still 
further embittered by their deprivation of all the pri- 
vate valuables that had been stored in the fortress of 
Wysehrad, which they seem to have been unable to 
hold at the time. Daily and at all hours the women 
implored the restoration of their money and goods en- 
trusted to the royal custodians in good faith. Crowds 
of these unfortunates sat in tears before the gates, in 
cold and hunger, while the means to purchase neces- 
saries, treacherously retained in the fortress were 
cruelly withheld from the owners. Such acts as these 
are more exasperating than edicts. But German craft 
was here well exemplified. 

In the summer of 1420, Sigismund advanced into Bo- 
hemia and seized some small places. A strong force 
dispatched by him to reduce Tabor was, under the 
eyes of Ferdinand of Lucca, papal legate, utterly 
routed and all its camp, provisions, supplies, and 



428 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

military engines taken, and the reformers restored in 
many towns. Next month a still more disastrous de- 
feat overwhelmed Sigismund at Kceniggratz. But the 
king having collected a mighty host, numbering by 
all estimates at least 100,000, gathered from every 
country in Europe from the Baltic to the Adriatic, 
and from the Danube to the Thames, advanced against 
Prague. The terrible destruction of life and property 
committed by this ruthless throng on its march cannot 
be estimated. "The land was as a garden before them, 
and behind them a desolate wilderness," They ren- 
dered the fair country a blackened desert white flecked 
only by bleaching bones. The two armies were ani- 
mated by the highest degree of animosity against each 
other. Bohemian prisoners were always burned by the 
German besiegers. Such acts could only produce fury 
on the other side. The citizens proposed a compro- 
mise stipulating for communion under both kinds, the 
free preaching of the word, the subordination of the 
ecclesiastical to the civil power, and the maintenance 
and recognition of the honor of the Bohemian nation. 
The cardinal's reply was reproachful and insulting, 
and created only intensified exasperation. Henceforth 
agreement was impossible and men, women, and chil- 
dren toiled in the defense. July 14th, the great assault 
was made after most careful dispositions by the be- 
siegers. The first attack was met by Zizka and his 
men, and repulsed on all sides with slaughter. At 
every point the assailants fell in heaps. The furious 
Hussites smote as they had never smitten; and the 
imperial host was utterly broken. Sigismund rapidly 
retreated to vent his wrath on the unhappy country, 
and men, women and children were massacred by his 
wanton mercenaries without mercy. Seeing thsir hated 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 



429 



foes in swift retreat the citizens and Taborites who 
had fought side by side knelt in their ranks, and a 
loud and long Te Deum signalized their thanks for a 
wonderful deliverance. During this siege the great 
library and the national archives were burned. 

Still another attempt to terminate these difficulties 
originated with the citizens, who as has been stated, 
belonged to the moderate part5^ But the Hussites of 
all sections — Prague, Horeb and Tabor — submitted one 
more proposition to the king. It was drawn up in 
three languages, Bohemian, German and Latin; and 
contained four articles. I. Free preaching. II. The 
communion under both kinds. III. Punishment of 
priests guilty of heinous crimes. IV. That all deadly 
sins and especially those openly committed by those 
of priestly order should be legally investigated and 
punished by the magistrate of that jurisdiction in 
order that false reports of the country should be cor- 
rected and the commonweal of the kingdom be sus- 
tained." The sins repeatedly declared in these propo- 
sitions to need the correcting hand of the law, and to 
stain the lives of the clergy and laity alike, were un- 
chastity, intemperance, robbery, murder, falsehood, 
fraud, perjury, magic, cheating in trade, avarice, usury 
and other offenses — and of the clergy alone simoniacal 
heresy, and the greed of gain in baptisms, confirma- 
tion, confession, the sacraments of the altar and of 
unction, marriages, masses and vigils, burials, chant- 
ing, and bell ringing, ordinations, consecration of 
churches, chapels, cemeteries, indulgences, and in 
fact the entire list of ceremonies of every grade and 
description. 

Notwithstanding recent events Sigismund was eager 
to complete his claim to the crown; but this cer- 



430 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

emony was necessarily delayed until the year 1436 
when Sigismund and his hosts had been thoroughly 
humbled for the time. 

The city was at once re provisioned and repaired in 
preparation for future troubles; especially as the peo- 
ple now heard that the papal legate had persuaded 
the king that he might now promise everything, but 
observe nothing, as no faith with heretics was of ob- 
ligation. 

September 15th, the fortress of Wysehrad that had 
hitherto held out for the king was stormed, and further 
strengthened. Negotiations were proposed and dis- 
cussed, but produced no result. October 24th, Sigis- 
mund again suffered defeat before Zacs, and retreated 
in disgrace. November ist, the king ventured on 
another advance against Prague j but suffered a dis- 
astrous defeat; his troops were pursued and cut down; 
no prisoners were taken; none were spared except 
some nobles who were held for large ransom. Not 500 
of the assailants remained together. Many hundred 
bodies fell a prey to dogs, wolves and vultures that 
now abounded in the desolate country. 

In the meantime the war raged also around Tabor 
and Pilsen, and Ziska hastening thither defeated his 
chief opponent, von Rosenberg, in several encounters. 

The sad story of Prachatic indicates the ferocit}' 
that distinguished this dreadful war. The town con- 
tained a numerous congregation of Hussites; but the 
majority, being of the opposite faction, held out against 
Ziska. When taken by storm a dreadful spectacle was 
presented. Eighty-five Hussites of every age and sex 
had been shut up in the sacristy of the church, pitch 
and straw heaped on them, and notwithstanding the 
most piteous entreaties, all burned together. Two 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 431 

hundred and thirty bodies of Hussites were found in 
the town; and a few women and children who managed 
to conceal themselves were distributed among the 
Taborites. Scenes of a similar kind were presented 
in many towns. On the i8th of November a truce was 
agreed with Rosenberg who represented royalty in 
this region. He was offered peace on these condi- 
tions ; — I. Free preaching. H. Communion in both 
kinds, in. Subordination of the ecclesiastical to the 
c^vil power. IV. Deadly sins be punished by a fine 
levied on the property of the offender, as far as pos- 
sible, and a bond given for the payment of ten thou- 
sand Prague groschen. Rosenberg simply consented to 
submit these propositions to the king. 

This truce was the more readily conceded by Ros- 
enberg in consequence of the storming of his double 
castle of Pribenic, a short distance from Tabor. This 
fortress contained many valuables wrested from the 
surrounding country and several Hussite prisoners. 
By aid from within some of these contrived to escape 
to Tabor, and besought the brethren for aid on behalf 
of the others. The appeal was at once successful. 
A sudden assault on the castle, and the loud shout 
Tabor, Hurra, Tabor, disconcerted the garrison. The 
fortress was stormed ; and among those taken prisoners 
was found the monk Herman, bishop of Nicopolis, and 
once a Hussite preacher at Milicin. But he had be- 
come an opponent and a persecutor even to the death 
of many preachers. The stern feelings of the time 
allowed no pardon for him; and the water of the fosse 
speedily closed over him. 

The closing months of 1420 and the earlier ones of 
1421 were passed by the nationalists partly in doctrinal 
discussions and negotiations, and partly in open strife. 



432 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Ziska with his resolute bands of roughly armed militia 
besieged castles, forts and towns, and speedily reduced 
the scattered strongholds that had held out for Sigis- 
mund. In the course of six months almost all had 
been converted into Hussite posts, and the power of 
the king practically annihilated in Bohemia. 

In these military movements the people of Prague 
zealously fought with the Taborites. National senti- 
ment formed the bond of union. The country rang with 
songs and hymns. Prague exercised chief influence in the 
north. The government became vested in a burgomaster 
and council elected by the community. Civil and crimi- 
nal law were based on religious sentiment,and conducted 
on religious principles. Every act was estimated ac- 
cording to its religious tendency as affecting dogmatic 
opinions. The prejudices of the people for doctrinal 
sympathies and ceremonies were fully gratified. They 
resisted Sigismund not to dethrone him but to exact 
from him the simple freedom of their consciences, 
which had been the right of the Bohemians from time 
immemorial. Although Prague and Tabor fought to- 
gether when the common foe appeared, yet the differ- 
ences of religious views gradually became fixed in 
formal creeds. Each party endeavored to convince 
the other and in the divergent feelings that resulted an 
open rupture became inevitable when the external 
pressure should be removed. The dispute descended 
to matters of form, but was not the less felt for that 
reason. Very earnest and formal discussions treated 
the subjects of difference. One party contended for 
the abolition of civil ranks and of property, and the 
distinction of mine and thine; for the cessation of all 
taxes and assessments and complete community of 
goods. They had not yet discovered that in the pres- 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 433 

ent natural constitution of things apples cannot grow 
without trees; and that trees and even tenderer plants 
require air and storms, electricity and thunder, coarse 
toil and cultivation to 5'ield the sweet meat of the 
apple, the tender flesh of the pear, or jelly of the cur- 
rant. Creeds and definitions were formulated; but the 
more minute the distinctions became the wider the 
divergence of opinions. The platform on which all 
men may stand must be wide enough to hold them all. 
During the discussions Ziska and his tireless bat- 
talions fought and marched, and besieged. Even 
Wenzel's fortress of Wenzelstien was taken and torn 
down never again to be a menace to Prague. The 
cit}' zealously co-operated with Ziska and aided him 
with troops; and by their united efforts Bohemia was 
totally lost to Sigismund, cities and towns gallantly 
repulsing his mercenaries from their walls. Komotau 
a German and Jewish stronghold, still held out; and 
poured blazing pitch and boiling water on the assail- 
ants. Great severity was therefore inflicted; and 
many Jews and Jewesses and children flung themselves 
into the blazing houses. Boehmish Brod, defended by 
a German garrison, was stormed, and the defenders who 
took refuge in the church tower were all enveloped in 
the burning building. Many places submitted and 
readily accepted the proposed conditions. Kuttenberg 
prudently surrendered and the war extended to Mora- 
via. Yaromir, Koenighof and Trautenau were taken 
and the victory of Prague was supreme. June 3rd the 
diet was convened at Caslav and Sigismund sent am- 
bassadors. He promised vaguely ; but the diet was 
determined to preserve the ancient rights.* In this 

* The barons and estates drew up and presented a list of accusa- 
tions against Sigismund as eloquent, forcible, and well founded as any 



434 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

similar document ever penned. The similarity in style between this 
declaration and another declaration still more modern is exceedingly 
striking. 

1. Because he permitted Master John Hus then under safe con- 
duct written in two languages to be condemned to death; nay more, 
he first, sitting in majesty, with his own lips condemned him, to the 
grievous injury, offense, and wrong of the Bohemians. 

2. Although all schismatics and obstinate heretics had received 
from the church full liberty in the Council of Constance; yet he is 
piling evil upon evil, against the honor of our kingdom, and all order, 
and against the safe conduct of the pope and of the kingdom itself 
given and conceded to all, caused one man namely. Master John Hus 
to be burned and condemned. 

3. Because in the aforesaid council he permitted the most chris- 
tian kingdom of Bohemia to be unjustly condemned as heretical, and 
a crusade to be set up m all violence against the aforesaid kingdom 
to its destruction and ruin. 

4 Because not content with these acts he recently in Vratislava 
ordered the same to be published and proclaimed against thd entire 
kingdom of Bohemia to its intolerable disgrace and many injuries and 
offenses. 

5. Because he assembled and excited all the surrounding regions 
and princes, with the aforesaid crusade and unjust condemnation, 
against the said kingdom of Bohemia and in his own person intro- 
duced these destroyers and devastators of the kingdom, and required 
that they should be introduced by others. 

6. Because the aforesaid princes and armies so introduced by the 
king himself into the kingdom of Bohemia, committed outrages, the 
burning of villages, the slaughter of people of both sexes; that is to 
say the burning to death of men, women, and children, grievous vio- 
lation of maidens and intolerable murder of matrons. 

7. Because recently in Vratislava by authority he ordered a cer- 
tain citizen of Prague to be dragged by horses and burned for the sole 
reason of partaking of the holy Eucharist under both kinds, to the 
dishonor of the innocent kingdom of Bohemia. 

8. Because he caused mauy citizens of Vratislava to be beheaded, 
and a multitude to be expelled and tortured on account of offenses 
committed against King Wenceslaus of pious memory and torgiven. 

9. Because he alienated from the kingdom of Bohemia the mar- 
quisite of Brandenburg acquired by the toil oc the emperor and his 
predecessors, and the blood of our warriors, and also mortgaged the 
March; without our consent, to the great loss and weakening of the 
crown and kingdom, to certain strangers, and gave it to them without 
sufficient compensation. 

10. Because he wrongfully carried off the crown whereby our 
kings are crowned, without the consent of the assembly of the barons 
and of the city of Prague, and of the knights, landholders and the 
entire community, to the great loss and dishonor of the kingdom. of 
Bohemia, contrary to his own promise and the good order of the 
aforesaid kingdom. 

11. Because he carried off great treasures of the kingdom which 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 435 

year the Taborites finding the inconvenience of an 
absence of regular government elected a bishop or 
elder, to whom all the others should show respect and 
deference. Other new sects also showed themselves 
through the country. 

At this interval Sigismund only plotted. At his 
instigation a strong league of princes combined to root 
out all heresy from Bohemia. To this band Cardinal 
Branda was dispatched by Martin V. and an army 

our predecessors, had contributed with pious devotion to the honor of 
God and of the holy patrons of Bohemia, and bestowed and assigned 
to the churches for safe keeping, and especially from the casile of 
Prague and Karlbtein, and various secure places and churches through 
the kingdom; and violently seized much treasure collected in the cap- 
ital, and caused it to be exported from the kingdom to the intolerable 
loss of the kingdom of Bohemia and to the injury and weakening of 
the same, 

12. Because he has unjustly and iniquitously stained and dishon- 
ored the kingdom of Bohemia itself by means of defamatory libels full 
of falsehood and injuries, written and pointed at the kingdom, assert- 
ing falsely and shamelessly that brother and sister, sou and mother, 
man with man, etc., (things forbidden to be uttered and improper 
even to be imagined) held scandalous connection, to the unendurable 
shame and disgrace of all; by reason of which infamous inventions 
very many nations and provinces have been violently excited against 
the kingdom. 

13. Because he has frequently defamed and vilified the nobles of 
the kingdom of Bohemia to the princes and barons of other Imds, say- 
ing that they were all traitors, and not one kept fealty, to the injury 
and grave prejudice of us all. 

14 Because ha forced and compelled many barons and knights of 
Bohemia and Moravia to go to their death in front of Vysehraad, and 
doomed them to a most untimely fate, to the irreparable loss and in- 
jury to the kingdom. 

15. Because he removed and concealed the accounts of the king- 
dom without the consent of the regents, and removed and seized all 
the money of the poor and of widows and orphans deposited with the 
accounts contrary to the law and the kingdom and the administration 
of the kingdom. 

16 Because he has infringed and by every means has violated the 
liberties of the kingdom and our laws and those of the marquisate 
freely bestowed and preserved by the ancient predecessors of our 
kings. 

17. Because with extreme cruelty and persistence he has enforced 
unjust extortions even to the utter annihilation of cities, villages and 
all subject places. 



436 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of 20,000 men assailed Bohemia from the side of Si- 
lesia. The fortress of Briix — named by Otakar in the 
days of his greatness the "watch tower of the country," 
was invested and taken. The same year at the siege 
of Rabi, Zizka already blind in one eye, was wounded 
in the remaining eye by an arrow and totally deprived 
of sight. This misfortune, in view of the opening of 
the second great crusade against Bohemia; was deeply 
lamented. But Zizka though blind was still greater 
than his foes. In June Cardinal Branda's mighty host 
advanced. It was estimated at more than 125,000 men. 
Beaten repeatedly from the walls of Saatz the invaders 
wasted the country utterly. The poor cultivators were 
hunted into forests, caverns and marshes. Hearing of 
Zizka' s approach the host of murderers led by Sigis- 
mund burned their tents in terror and fled in disorder. 
Zizka pursued with such ardor that not a handful of 
the invaders were left together. Even the Germans 
felt so much indignation at the cowardice of the princes 
that they joined fiercely in the pursuit. 

The triumph at Saatz allowed another breathing 
space; but religious discussions divided the people. 
In this year, 1422, died at Prague, the most conspicu- 
ous preacher of the city — the presbyter John, long the 
head of the clerical order. He had been a bond of 
union between the two parties and his death created 
a vague sense of insecurity and separation between 
them. Serious disorders followed, and a large collec- 
tion of books in the library and much other property 
was destroyed. 

At this period fourteen fortresses constituted the 
Taborite union. But the country at large felt the 
need of a political leader, and Alexander Witold of 
Lithuania and his son Sigmund Korybut attracted 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 437 

chief attention. Witold was invited into the kingdom 
and became titular protector, and was acknowledged 
by Zizka. Karlstein was next besieged, and at this 
conjuncture the Reichstag at Nuremberg decided on 
a perpetual war against heretics until their utter ex- 
termination. For that beneficent purpose a heavy tax 
was established on the most useful and necessary man- 
ufactures. Karlstein was not pressed; and dissensions 
broke out at Prague. A demand for a truce with Sig- 
ismund was heard. Karlstein and all its garrison were 
relieved and the efforts before the place wasted. 
Worse than all, the two chief parties openly quarreled, 
as they represented in fact the aristocratic and dem- 
ocratic principles Witold was speedily recalled from 
Bohemia where he had been found worse than useless. 
A new league between Sigismund, Vladislav of 
Poland, and Witold speedil}' followed, and an army 
of 30,000 men collected against Bohemia. Zizka, 
however, had aroused enthusiasm and he found friends. 
At Heric in April, 1423 he repulsed the new invaders 
from his wagon defenses with decisive success. But 
the quarrel between the parties led to serious strife of 
war at Krizenec. A reconciliation was effected and a 
dreadful calamity averted for years. Kremzier in Mo 
ravia next saw strife. Here the Bohemians encamped 
to resist an inroad from that quarter; and the invad 
ers were utterly defeated. At this critical conjuncture 
the opposition to Zizka's democratic tendencies cre- 
ated alienation among the nobles and support was 
withheld. But the blind hero carried the war into Mo- 
ravia, Austria and Hungary. In October, 1423 the diet 
assembled at Prague, and drew up articles of govern- 
ment; provided for the election of representatives from 
both parties; proposed a cessation of hostilities, reg- 



438 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ulated the public traffic; and arranged for an improved 
coinage. In July the Council of Siena took up the 
unfinished work of Constance, and fulminated the most 
dreadful decrees against all heretics. Sigismund, 
in obedience to its mandates, issued sanguinary orders 
against all Hussites; forbade aid to them of food, 
shelter, raiment, barter, speech or act of any kind; 
and denounced all disobedience of these orders as 
itself heresy. The entire Bohemian nation was out- 
lawed. At these tidings Zizka returned from Hungary. 
At Mallshov he intrenched, the groun4 being as usual, 
described to him by his officers. Here he stood on 
a hill, behind his wagons ; and here his enemies fell 
in heaps. Many of the dead were citizens of Prague, 
their standard bearer dead among them. 

In April, 1424, Vladislav and Witold completed a 
new alliance against Bohemia, and were strongly aided 
by Albert, duke of Austria, son-in-law of Sigismund, 
and now duke of Moravia, who advanced to Briinn. 
Prince Korybut a second time entered Prague bearing 
the title "postulate king elect." Cardinal Brada also 
assisted in Moravia, and the Hussite barons were 
forced into submission. This same year Zizka's wrath 
was directed against Prague itself for past hostility 
and treachery. But John of Rokyzana, a man already 
conspicuous, effected a peace most needed in that 
hour of peril. The last expedition of the tireless and 
unconquered Zizka was directed against Pribislav, 
an inconsiderable fortress on the Moravian border. 
Here the hero fell a victim to the plague. His last 
words exhorted his brethren present to sustain the 
truth of God and seek their recompense hereafter. 
On the nth of October, 1424, Bohemia's unrivaled 
chieftain passed away. Zizka was a man somewhat 




Hussite Weapons. 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 439 

above medium stature, broad-shouldered, and of strong 
physique. His nose was rather more hooked than 
aquiline. Lips rather thick, chin strong and always 
partly shaven, but bearing a dark brown half-beard 
which with the moustache was trimmed in Polish 
fashion. He wore, except in battle, the Polish cap 
and dress. From the time when he became totally 
blind he was always conveyed in a wagon in the midst 
of his army. Zizka was a man of deep and sincere 
religious convictions; but his temper was rendered 
severe by the indignities and extreme sufferings in- 
flicted on his country. His flag was black,* not then 
the symbol color that it is now, but bearing the same 
character as in the present German flag, and showing 
a red chalice emblazoned in the center. He and his 
followers all bore the emblem of the chalice depicted 
on their armor or clothing. 

Zizka's death stimulated the enemy to still greater 
exertions. On the other hand more earnest attempts 
were made to reconcile the two parties. At Zditz in 
October, and at the diet at Kaurim in March, 1425, 
most anxious negotiations were undertaken to that end. 
Sigismund labored to prevent union and widen the 
breach. He therefore anounced a reichstag at Vienna 
for November, but this pretense failed. Again articles 
were propounded — this time 24, — to establish a com- 
mon religious basis; but they consisted of a mere rep- 
etition of the ordinary catholic claims utterly rejected 
by the Taborites. The discussion was conducted for 
the Calixtines by Pribram, a violent and abusive man, 
and produced no result. Sigismund attempted to unite 
Germany again, but failed. The war proceeded, the 
citizens of Prague under' Prince Korybut, the Hore- 

* The black eagle had for centuries been the Bohemian symbol. 



440 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

bites under Bruk, and the Taborites under John Hev 
ezda. Many Moravian towns fiercely revolted against 
Albert and joined the nationalists. Albert in revenge 
collected a great host in Austria; burned and massa- 
cred and created desolation. The sections fought side 
by side, each with its own distinguishing insignia, the 
Taborites with the least displa}'. During 1425 the 
Horebites, the least numerous of the sections, merged 
with the Calixtines. Since Zizka's death less cohesion 
existed. The strife continued chiefly around the towns 
on the Moravian border. In July, 1425, a truce was 
concluded with Sigismund but the latter never abated 
his designs. Albert knowing he would succeed to the 
crown and empire struggled to perpetuate the war 
against Bohemia. But October saw all parties again 
united at the siege of Worziez; and a fresh union was ef- 
fected against Sigismund and Albert. Fortified monas- 
teries frequently were the scene of strife and around 
these the war continued. Of these Trebitsch held out for 
the Hussites and repelled the utmost exertions of the 
besiegers. Ricz in Austria likewise resisted Albert suc- 
cessfully, having been taken by the Hussites with great 
loss to the imperialists. A diet at Prague in 1426 
produced no result; but a great assembly of the Ta- 
borites at Pisek in February produced revived en- 
thusiasm. A stirring address was issued, concluding 
with these words : — "And may God grant some al- 
mighty blessing that a happ}' beginning may be made 
of christian mediation, repose, and friendship and 
consolation among all true christians, so that in this 
land the salvation of souls and the freedom of the 
word of God may be speedily established." The men 
who employed this language were neither bad men nor 
fanatics; and while they deliberated, with their hands 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 441 

on their weapons, yet the}^ fought only for principles 
of conscience that seemed to them to be of supreme 
importance. At the reichstag in Vienna on the loth of 
February, 1426, another spirit pievailed. Here the 
relentless prosecution of the war until the total anni- 
hilation of the Hussites formed the chief topic. But 
a strong force rapidly advanced into Moravia, stormed 
several strong places, burned others, and having gar- 
risoned Lundenburg, the strongest, rapidly retired to 
Bohemia. At this conjuncture as usual under such 
circumstances the comparative merits of the officers 
who had studied and fought under Zizka shone clear- 
ly. Among these Prokop Holy rapidly attained pre- 
eminence. At an hour when every man, preacher or 
other, who could wield a weapon was sorely needed, 
wherever military talent existed it always found op- 
portunity. During this year a great confederation of 
the dukes of Saxony and Austria and vSigismund con- 
stituted the chief antagonist; and a Bohemian force 
marched north to resist it. The enemy invested forts 
and towns as usual. The marvel is that there were 
still inhabited places to invest. They seized some; 
and the Bohemians now led by Procop reduced others. 
The duke of Saxony had garrisoned Dar with 500 
men ; but the Hussites stormed the place, plundered 
and burned it, and assailing the Saxons in the rear 
routed them completely. Again in May, 1426, the 
reichstag at Nuremberg dispatched troops against Bo- 
hemia. In June a fierce conflict took place at Aus- 
sig. The invaders fully equipped numbered nearly 
80,000 men. Early on Sunday morning on the i6th 
of June as the Hussites were engaged in prayer behind 
their wagon intrenchment the enemy advanced. The 
Germans swore they would leave no heretic alive. 



442 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

This open taunt stirred the Bohemians to a vow to 
give no quarter. They stood — -archer and pikeman 
and maceman, behind their wagon fence firmly locked 
with chains. The terrible defense swept the assailants 
down. 

Great gaps and spaces marked the broken ranks. 
Knights dismounted, but could not penetrate the 
wagon fence and were struck^ down in the attempt. 
The bloody field was covered with the dead, and the 
remnant of the broken host was glad to flee in dis- 
order. The slain lay in heaps of hundreds. The de- 
fenders' loss was extremely small. The towns where 
the invaders attempted to find shelter were taken and 
burned at once; and more than 18,000 men, including 
many nobles and twenty-three standard-bearers were 
found slain. All the camp equipage, ammunition and 
supplies fell into the hands of the Bohemians. Procop 
had, if possible, surpassed Zizka himself. Without 
loss of time Briix and Podebrad were invested and great 
loss inflicted on the Austrians. Still the discussions 
continued. Prague resounded with the arguments of 
Pribram and Peter Payne the Englishman. John of 
Rokycana, now held the foremost place and all listened 
to his counsel. His labors for a union produced a 
deep impression. Prince Korybut, unable to sustain 
his imbecile reign in Prague, retired apparently to aid 
the enemy. He was speedily surrendered as a pris- 
oner, and his inglorious rule abruptly terminated. The 
contest now extended to Austria and Silesia. A Tab- 
orite army under Procop burst on the latter province 
and seized many strong places. At Cervenahora and 
Zleb, great victories crowned their arms. Sigismund 
retired far from the scene of strife ; but Henry of 
Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, appeared on the scene 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 443 

and joined his counsels with John the Iron bishop of 
Olmiitz. John of Bedford and Humphrey of Glouces- 
ter also took the field at the solicitation of Martin V, 
All Europe sent its warriors against the beleaguered 
but still invincible Bohemians. A strong combina- 
tion of the knighthood of France also under Frederic 
of Brandenburg and the bishops of Bamberg and Wurz- 
burg, strengthened by a sacred banner of the virgin 
and child, and the holy hand of St. George, decreed 
a crusade against the redoubtable heretics. This tre- 
mendous confederation included warriors, bishops and 
princes from the Netherlands, Alsace, Switzerland, 
Swabia, France, Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse, 
Brandenburg, Magdeburg and its archbishop, Bruns- 
wick, Mecklenburg, Pomerania and Silesia. England 
and Scotland too lent their aid. This great host, 
concentrated against Bohemia, in 1427 first concerted 
measures at Frankfort. The estimates vary from 80,000 
to 200,000 men. Eighty thousand horse and as man)' 
foot is the record of an experienced eye-witness. This 
great host invested several strong places at once; but 
was chiefly concentrated in the Pilsen district. The 
town of Mies was formally besieged and could be de- 
fended by only a small garrison. Every method and 
siege machine then known was employed to reduce the 
place, and loud boasts of its subjugation were heard. 
August ist, 1427, Procop advanced to its relief with 
about 17,000 men; and so great was the terror of the 
very name of Bohemian and Hussite that the invest- 
ing army confusedly took to flight before an enemy 
showed his face. Tachan had been invested also and 
was speedily reduced, and the garrison cut down. 
Even the cattle were destroyed. The dreary contest 
continued in Silesia, and extended to Austria and 



444 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Bavaria. The imperial host wasted away and effected 
nothing. Again and again Sigismund and the pope 
proclaimed a crusade. Throughout the year 1428 cas- 
tles and forts became the centers of strife. In 1429 a 
convocation at Pressburg attempted a reconciliation; 
and in the same year a numerous diet assembled 
in Prague, and Sigismund was represented. But noth- 
ing resulted. The excitement created in France by 
the maid of Orleans extended to Bohemia. But 
though suffering from want of food was widespread in 
the latter country also, the same scenes of mental 
aberration, and nervous excitement of which Joan of 
Arc was the center and exponent, were not exhibited 
in Bohemia. Again and again a truce was welcomed 
by both sides. The exhaustion was dreadful. New 
discussions between Pribram and Payne divided Prague; 
and new leagues of princes prepared crusades. In 
Saxony, Brandenburg, Brunswick, Thuringia, and the 
city of Magdeburg, bishops, knights and princes again 
combined and hurled a great host of 100,000 men 
against Bohemia in 1430. This army lost its wagons 
and supplies in a river near Grimma; and all fell into 
the hands of the Bohemians who seized every advant- 
age. The confusion created a panic and the invaders 
fled. Another attempt at peace at Nuremburg during 
this year resulted as before. The chief difficulty arose 
from the unalterable determination of the pope and 
his advisers to tolerate no opinion in the world di- 
verse from his own. 

The years 1430-31 witnessed the last great crusade 
against the Hussites. The latter still combated in 
Silesia, and the pope endeavored to persuade the 
king of Poland to take the field. The Bohemians re- 
torted by concluding friendship with Poland. Silesia, 
Hungary and Moravia felt the Hussite arms. Poland 



PERIOD OF THE HUSSITE WAR 445 

listened favorably to an appeal to a general council, 
and stood aloof. In March, 1431, the council of Basle 
assembled. February 20th, Pope Martin died, and was 
succeeded by Eugenius IV. The reichstag at Nurem- 
berg, February gth, proclaimed another crusade; and 
Rome was represented by Cardinal Coesarini. The 
latter issued a severe manifesto and the Bohemians 
replied. The cardinal made ready for war and in Au- 
gust go, 000 foot and 40,000 horse invaded Bohemia. 
This horde burned open villages and hamlets, and 
destroyed towns; massacred young and old of both 
sexes. Plunder, destruction, fire and slaughter marked 
their blackened and bloody track. More than 200 vil- 
lages and hamlets were burned in the districts of 
Swamberg and Tachora. The open country was ruth- 
lessly wasted. August i4thj 1431, a day to be well 
remembered, this destroying horde advanced against 
Tauss, While the Hussite army was still a mile dis- 
tant their shout and song were heard and spread con- 
fusion and alarm. Wild disorder reigned. The entire 
host, wagons, horses, footmen became a tangled mob, 
trampled each other down in a mad effort to escape, 
and fled in dismay. In vain the cardinal shrieked. 
No orders were obeyed. The fugitives halted not an 
instant as they trod each other down, The entire 
camp, munitions, supplies, treasure and even the bulls 
of the pope and the cardinal's vestments and baggage 
were seized by the conquerors. Cardinal Julian fled 
hungry and terrified, and with the aid of a few Ger- 
man horse effected an ignominious escape. This sweep- 
ing victory convinced even the obstinacy of Sigis- 
mund, and the persistent fury of his ecclesiastical ad- 
visers, that further efforts in the same direction must 
lead to utter destruction; and with a bad grace, but 
in earnest at last he consented to treat for peace. 



CHAPTER XX. 

COUNCIL OF BASLE. RISE OF GEORGE PODEBRAD. 

For the first time in 800 years the protest against 
the alleged corruptions introduced by the Roman see 
into the system of the Christian church obtained a 
masterful right to an open hearing by the world. Use- 
less for the present the fire and the faggot. The in- 
visible conscience of men, whatever that may be, was 
found tougher than forged steel, mightier and more 
terrible than armies with banners and cardinals. Sol- 
emn processions in Rome frequently repeated to as- 
sure victor}', and a constant appeal to the interpo- 
sition of supernal influences by the exhibition of the 
reliquary amulets of deceased saints had all signalh' 
failed. Providence seemed to be powerfully on the 
side of the heretics. The change, — the revolution from 
the sanguinary council of Constance to the delibera- 
tive council of Basle marked a momentous bound in 
the world's history in fourteen short years. 

The victory at Tauss created consternation for a 
time among the assembled fathers. Cardinal Julian 
had deliberately preferred the sword to argument. 
He still menaced extermination; but his wrath sound- 
ed like mockery. Sigismund had no faith in any meth- 
od but the sword. The Hussites on the other hand 
had deliberated on an apostolic government of twelve 
with a chief ruler at their head. But in the field minor 
conflicts still occurred in Hungary and elsewhere, 

416 



COUNCIL OF BASLE 447 

with varied success. The invitation to Basle was 
readily accepted at Prague, but the Taborites were 
distrustful. The latter in a manifesto reproached the 
Germans with being the cause of all the ruin; and 
demanded full freedom of belief without oppression 
by priests or powers. "True belief," they said, "is 
of that kind that the more men repress it, the stronger 
it grows and the wider it spreads." They demanded 
the removal of monasteries as centers of evil; and 
they resisted, they claimed, not the service of God 
but the scandals of simony and the inculcation of her- 
esy. The diet at Prague in 1432 freely discussed 
religious questions; but these were chiefly such as 
were demanded by the Calixtines. Procopius journeyed 
to Prague to attend, and led his army a portion of the 
way. Eugenius IV. attempted to remove the council to 
Bologna but failed. A preliminary consultation of 
Bohemians met at Eger to consider the course to be 
pursued at Basle. Here the several parties were rep- 
resented by their leaders including Procopius and John 
of Rokyzan, and a strong and eminent delegation. Soon 
we find Procopius again on the march with his army 
toward the Oder storming castles and taking towns. 
In Silesia also several important places were taken, 
perhaps to add emphasis to the demands at Basle. A 
peace was concluded with Poland. The same year 
the utraquists presented their demands under a strong 
embassy to the diet at Kuttenberg. Thus a wide 
dominion felt and respected the Hussite power. The 
same year the Austrians piteously complained that 
the Bohemians carried a high hand into their territor}' 
to rescue prisoners and that they were unable to re- 
sist them. 

A splendid deputation marched triumphantly through 



448 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Germany to the council. At Nuremberg a Taborite ac- 
cession was received. They displayed a Taborite ban- 
ner, bearing on one side an emblazonment of Christ 
on the cross, and on the other a chalice and a com- 
munion cake above it, with the motto "Veritas Omnia 
Vincit." The other Hussite wagons carried banners 
and streamers. Special magisters and doctors were 
selected on both sides to debate the questions pro- 
posed. It was a great time for Bohemia. During 
the winter of 1433 the debates continued, John of 
Rokyzan and Peter Payne being among the chief speak- 
ers. The appeal was constantly held to the first cen- 
turies and the faith then held. The word heretic was 
heard but indignantly repudiated. The discussions 
were attentively listened to by the foremost princes 
in Europe, and have never been forgotten. The voice 
of Procopius was not drowned in clamor like that of 
Hus. The world had changed. The same year a dep- 
utation from the council attended the diet at Prague. 
Great was the surprise of the visitors to find each ses- 
sion opened with the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus. " 
Rokyzan acted as speaker and welcomed the visitors. 
Procopius recounted the successes of the campaign. A 
formal truce was arranged, "that the word of God 
might prevail." In August formal articles were pro- 
posed, I. Communion under both kinds. II. Mor- 
tal sins to be estimated, punished, and extirpated ac- 
cording to the word of God. III. The word of God 
to be freely and truly preached. IV. Priests shall 
not in this day of the word of grace act in a worldly 
manner for earthly advantage. Added to these was a 
declaration that only a kindly union with all men was 
proposed. A concession of double communion to Bo- 
hemia was submitted to a committee, but only from 



COUACJL OF BASLE 449 

one quarter was dissent heard. Here an open "protest" 
was raised against the concession. The subject was 
debated for many days and finally another deputation 
was dispatched to Bohemia. Still war vexed the land 
around Pilsen. Procopius seized many towns in that 
region that had shown disaffection. The necessity of 
union in the nation combined all parties against Pil- 
sen which the imperialists had secretly alienated. 
But a temporary accommodation was effected. In No- 
vember the first agreement, known as Compactata was 
reached at Prague. Some delay was created by the 
jealousy of the order of nobles against the present dem- 
ocratic tendency represented by Procopius and the 
Taborites. This jealousy united the nobles in a con- 
federation, intended to preserve the ancient rights and 
power of the ruling class; and resulted in a widening 
of the breach between the two parties. Sigismund 
expressed a wish to treat with the leaders on both 
sides. These negotiations, the tedious and repeated 
discussions at Basle, and the impatience of the Calix- 
tines produced a sense of enmity against the Taborite 
party who were accused of revolutionary designs, 
and whose obstinacy was charged with the prevention 
of a settlement. The military position was thus seri- 
ously weakened. The barons took the field; the 
country became not onl}^ divided but broken into now 
hostile sections. This condition of affairs necessarily 
led to open strife. Imperialist and papal intrigues 
embittered the contention. The Calixtines formed the 
more numerous party, and had the aid of imperial 
arms and resources. In 1434 the two parties reached 
open and furious civil war; and at Lipan on the dis- 
astrous 30th of May, the Taborites suffered a dreadful 
and fatal defeat; and both the elder and younger 



45 3 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA- 

Procopius were slain. But although the most zealous 
party was overwhelmed the heart of the nation re- 
mained unsubdued. The years 1435 and 1436 were 
chiefly devoted to attempts feeble on both sides to find 
an accommodation. At length on the 20th of July, 
1436, the celebrated agreement called the Compact with 
the king was reached in the council after many stormy 
scenes, and disputations. This agreement contained 
thirteen principal articles. I. Mortal sins (felonies) 
shall not be tolerated. II. Communion under both 
kinds to be maintained. III. One elected member 
shall be admitted to the royal council. IV. Utraquist 
priests to be invited to the palace. V. Parishes not 
to be compelled to restore the churches and monas- 
teries. VI. Monks and nuns shall not be recalled 
without the consent of the archbishop, nobles and 
parish. VII. The restoration of the university' and 
the hospital foundation. VIII. The crown of Bohe- 
mia to enjoy all its rights, privileges, charters, treas- 
ures, in full restoration. IX. The kingdom shall 
preserve its rights, freedom and institutions confirmed 
and upheld. X, Preaching in the native tongue of 
each nationality. XI. Confiscations of property dur- 
ing the war to be investigated. XII. No foreigner 
shall be placed in office in Bohemia; and in the royal 
domains the same principle shall prevail as under 
Charles and the other Bohemian kings. XIII. Gen- 
eral amnesty for everything done during the recent 
troubles. August 14th the nobles in a landtag at Iglan 
did homage to Sigismund as kmg. August 23rd, the 
newly acknowledged sovereign entered Prague amid 
great demonstrations. 

The Taborite towns, chiefly Tabor itself includ- 
ing Austie and Koniggratz, surrendered on condi- 



COUNCIL OF BASLE 451 

tions, October i6th an agreement was effected with 
the Taboriies. I. Priest Bedrich and the com- 
munity shall not be forcibly deprived of the word of 
God; but may regulate their undertakings by it. II. 
The kaiser shall forever liberate Tabor and Austie 
and their dependencies from all patrimonial claims. 
III. For six years the Taborites shall elect their own 
council, and at the end of that time the kaiser or his 
deputies shall do so; and only customary taxes shall be 
paid. IV. They shall not furnish troops except as the 
other royal dominions; all prisoners to be set at lib- 
erty. V. All property taken in Bohemia, Moravia 
and Austria during the war, to be restored: servants to 
be reta;ined. VI. The king to give a guaranty for the 
payment within one year of 2,500 Bohemian groschen 
by the monastery of Launovic and its dependencies. 
Sigismund invited all parties to a diet at Prague, 
December 14th, where he promised to arrange all dif- 
ferences amicably. Early in 1437 the Compact was 
ratified; and immediately afterward several orders of 
monks received foundations in Prague. Rokyzan 
and Payne and his pupil Penning experienced the 
hitherto dissembled hatred of the king; and were 
compelled to depart from Prague. Only the rugged 
hand of power could combat these eminent men: they 
had always triumphantly held their own in argument 
and learned discussion. But now the monks ruled 
again. The last severe resistance occurred at Sion. 
Here commanded John Rohac, a man very eminent by 
birth, acquirements and military renown. The place 
was besieged and taken; and on September gth, Prague 
witnessed a painful spectacle and as humiliating as it 
was strange. The gallant soldier, with fifty-two of 
his fellow prisoners, was hanged on a lofty gallows, 



452 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

with a golden chain, and girt with a golden girdle by 
way of distinction. Clearly it was neither humanity 
nor prudent policy that hitherto of late had dictated 
Sigismund's course. It was only fear that had stayed 
liis hand. Although at peace outwardly the land was 
not contented; and much disquietude rendered pres 
ent conditions utterly insecure. 

But long anxieties and grievous discomfiture had bro- 
ken Sigismund's strength. Seized with a severe ill- 
ness he quitted Prague in 1437, but died at Znaim 
December gth. Sigismund was large and strong, fore- 
head capacious, eyes full, and cheeks ruddy. He was 
fickle, unreliable and often deceitful. Lascivious in 
private life he pretended virtue. Wasteful of money, 
and of bad temper he was cruel, and careless of prom- 
ises. Yet could he be candid, with the candor of reck- 
lessness. It is related of him that in a conversation 
with Pope Eugenius he said, "In three things we dis- 
agree. You sleep in the morning, I rise before day. 
You drink water, I drink wine. You avoid women, 
I hasten to them. But we agree in three; you collect 
large treasures for the church, I retain nothing; you 
have foul hands, I have foul feet. You destroy the 
church, I ruin the empire. " 

Albert of Austria, son-in-law of Sigismund, succeed- 
ed; and his election at Prague presented strong and 
ominous indications of coming difficulties. National 
jealousies of a foreigner revived the spirit of revolt. 
Parties were divided between Poland and Austria; 
and confusion again distracted the country. Albert, 
however, was crowned in Prague. The spirit and the 
acts of the new government and its ecclesiastical ad- 
visers were felt to be inimical to the purposes of the 
recent war, and really hostile to the recent conditions 



COUNCIL OF BASLE 453 

of peace. Encroachments and aggressions multiplied 
and alarm spread. Again the Taborites united with 
a Polish army, and openly resisted the violations of 
the compact already begun by the clergy. German 
and Hungarian cohorts again invaded Bohemia. From 
Brandenburg, Austria and Moravia they came at the 
call of Albert to destroy Tabor. The fortress was 
vainly invested for weeks; and the king on his retreat 
lost many wagons, prisoners and much treasure in 
a sudden assault. Again Albert entreated foreign aid 
and obtained several minor advantages. Troubles at 
home compelled the Polish army to retire, and several 
strong places still resisted Albert's forces. The open 
quarrel between Albert and Poland greatly relieved 
Bohemia, where only in Prague could the royal au- 
thority be said to prevail. The long continued enmity 
of Hungary was now remembered against that country; 
and Albert's solicitude became extreme when he learned 
of advances made by the Sultan Amurath H.* for an 
alliance with Poland and Bohemia against Hungary. 
The national antipath}' of Hungary itself also exhib- 
ited its force against Albert. A disastrous campaign 
against the Turks resulted; and the Turkish woe so 
much bewailed by Christendom was acclerated and in- 
tensified by the extreme tyranny of the heads of the 
christian world against their own people. The Turks 
were better than the christian powers. Amid these 
disasters Albert died October 27, 1439. The same year 
the plague again desolated Bohemia induced by the 
waste and foulness of the country, and the famine- 
stricken condition of the people. During all these 
contentions the principles of nationality and of reform 

* Mahomet ii (conqueror of Constantinople) "was the son of the 
Second Amurath."— Gibbon. 



454 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

in religion went together. Both were equally threat- 
ened by the extreme severities and alien innovations 
which an insatiable hierarchy and their German abet- 
tors struggled to force upon the country. 

To terminate if possible the existing, and probably 
the worse disorders in prospect, the chief men in Bo- 
hemia anxiously searched for a sovereign on whom 
the great majority would unite. The idea of a democ- 
racy, as broached and upheld by the Taborite leaders 
which had provoked the disaster of Lipan, was felt to 
be abhorrent to the antecedents and political principles 
of the great body of the nation. Bohemia had always 
been a kingdom and not a republic. Two princesses 
of the ancient line still survived, both widows. The 
Salic law did not operate in principle; but its prac- 
tical application was felt to be inexpedient^ One of 
these princesses, Albert's widow, began negotiations; 
but the diet — the perennial and constitutional re- 
source of Bohemia — was awaited. In February 1440, 
Ladlslaus, styled Posthumus, was born to Albert's 
widow at Komorn. Here was prospect of a settlement ; 
Dut public necessities divided parties between Hungary 
and Poland. The diet assembled in May and the 
election of a king was debated. During this interreg- 
num the districts were governed by their ancient local 
institutions which no public commotion had been able 
to efface. After much debate Albert, duke of Bavaria, 
was selected. A splendid deputation was commis- 
sioned to offer him the crown, and promptly proceeded 
to Cham. Here we become acquainted with a great 
name among the delegates, George of Podebrad. Al- 
bert hesitated; but finally declined with much polite- 
ness. The results of the Basle council, the claims of 
Austria and the supposed rights of the infant Ladis- 



COUNCIL OF BASLE .455 

laus seem to have prevailed. The Taborites formed 
still a numerous and compact party, and in the exist- 
ing political divisions their aid was valuable. Four 
chief parties divided the people. At the head of the 
utraquists stood Meinhard of Neuhaus. Ulrich of Ros- 
enberg led the avowed papal party; the chief spokes- 
man of the CaJixtines was John of Rokyzan and the 
chief of the neutrals was Ptacek of Pirkstein. Albert 
advised his visitors to select two prominent men to act 
as regents during the minority of young Ladislaus, 
and Meinhard and Ptacek were chosen. The latter 
soon died and Meinhard governed alone. In the mean- 
while Queen Barbara had been assigned a residence 
at Milnik. The death of Meinhard soon afterward 
created not. only an interregnum but a total vacancy 
in the government. The country had been apportioned 
among local magnates; and George of Podebrad who 
ruled Koniggratz and its district now held a foremost 
place. 

We may here introduce this illustrious warrior, 
statesman and patriot's early biography more at length. 
George Podebrad was born at the castle of Podebrad 
April 23rd, 1420, His father had been a close per- 
sonal friend cf John Zizka, who, it is asserted, became 
his godfather. The times were perilous indeed. The 
elder Podebrad died in 1427, and the child was but 
three years old when Bohemia lost her great hero and 
defender Zizka. 

The youth at the age of fourteen took active 
pairt in the fatal collision at Lipan against the 
Taborites. His capacity was recognized even at this 
early age, and the year following he was elected to 
the assembly at Briinn. The purpose of this body was 
to complete negotiations for the pacification of the 



456 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

country with Sigismund and the Council of Basle. 
In 1437 George was appointed b}' Sigismund as one of 
the Kmets of the Council of State of Bohemia and Mo- 
ravia; but Sigismund died in 1437. A new king must 
be elected, always a perilous event, especially if a for- 
eigner is to be chosen. Podebrad was one of the na- 
tional party that successfully resisted Albert of 
Austria, and desired Casimir of Poland as king. Al- 
bert's troops were defeated through the skilful strat- 
egy of Podebrad. The purpose of this party was to 
extend the compact of Sigismund and Albert; and 
by these eminent services George became recognized 
and accepted as a strong and reliable patriot. In 1441 
he married the beautiful Kunhuta of Stanberg ; and 
although only 21 3'ears of age was regarded as pos- 
sessing one of the most matured intellects of his time, 
although the youngest of the prominent men of Europe. 
Three years later Podebrad was selected as leader of 
the utraquist party. At this period he was already chief 
of the Caslau union, a political and military organiza- 
tion, and collected a strong force to operate against 
Frederic of Saxony, who retained some portion of Bo- 
hemian territory. This was the ostensible purpose; 
but the real object was the recovery'of Prague by the 
nationalists. The chief offices in the cit}' were held 
indeed by compactatists, but persons favoring Rome. 
September 3rd, 1448, Podebrad appeared before the 
city; issued a proclamation; and became master of the 
capital without serious bloodshed. He was hailed as 
liberator, and thus the reaction was destroyed at one 
blow, after twelve years of sullen submission by the 
citizens. By this success the utraquists again obtained 
full control of all portions of the country. Podebrad 
by force of circumstances became governor and exer- 



COUNCIL OF BASLE 457 

cised some few severities against persistent enemies. 
In 1449 Kunhuta died and George next was united in 
marriage with Johanna of Rozmital, a heroine prin- 
cess. At this period Podebrad received a formal, visit 
from ^neas Sylvius, papal legate, afterward Pius II. 
The governor and his visitor enjo3'ed a long inter- 
view at Prague. The churchman failed to produce 
the least impression on the religious convictions of 
his host; and the knowledge of this fact probably in- 
fluenced iEneas in subsequent years in urging bloody 
war against Bohemia and her wise and prosperous 
administration. April 27th, 1452, Podebrad was for- 
m.ally elected constitutional governor by the assembly 
at Prague, and his authority was almost universally 
recognized. Only those who upheld communion in 
one kind resisted, and allied themselves with Pode- 
brad's old adversaries the Taborites. Both parties 
leagued with the Austrians and Hungarians who de- 
manded young Ladislaus Posthumus as king. Pode- 
brad did not wait for his foes to grow strong. At 
one sudden blow Tabor was destroyed, the preachers 
imprisoned, and the church of Prague established in 
Tabor. The country was now thoroughl}' subdued and 
George of Podebrad firmly possessed of legal national 
authority. At this juncture great efforts were made to 
elevate young Ladislaus to the throne, and the gov- 
ernor aided that proposal with all his authority. The 
young prince, now thirteen, was elected by the assembly 
at Podebrad's urgent request; and received every re- 
spectful consideration from the governor and people. 
October 24th, 1453, the young king approached tlie 
frontier of Moravia and was obliged before setting 
foot in his kingdom to swear faithful observance of 
the Bohemian constitution. He was crowned at Prague 



458 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

by the bishop of Olmiitz; and all offices were at once 
filled by Bohemians. Under the wise and firm admin- 
istration that followed order and prosperity overspread 
Bohemia. The king cordially acknowledged the 
merits of his great min^^ster ; and bestowed on him many 
thousand copa* for the improvement of his estates. 

The fall of Constantinople before the Turks in 
1453 turned the attention of all Europe to George 
Podebrad, as the. defender of Christendom. He might 
have occupied that great position, to the infinite ad- 
vantage of christian states, but for the calamitous con- 
ditions provoked by the papal partizans. In 1454 the 
king quitted Bohemia for two years, going to Silesia, 
Austria and Hungary. The people murmured how- 
ever, and were apprehensive that foreign influences 
were at work, and in fact young Ladislaus was de- 
tained at the imperial court with something of the ap- 
pearance of a state prisoner. Another embassy to 
Frederic requested the presence of the king; but he 
was then, preparing to proceed to Italy for his corona- 
tion. He took young Ladislaus with him and on his 
return the king was set at liberty. A catholic assem- 
bly met at Vienna, and Ladislaus retired to Hungary 
to await events. The duke of Saxony and other princes 
renewed the old league against Bohemia ; and the 
prince and his adherents advanced to the Danube. The 
two armies faced each other for some time ; but nego- 
tiations prevented strife. Ladislaus advanced to Prague 
and was welcomed by all parties. Although but 17 
years of age the prince was betrothed to Magdalene, 
daugliter-of Charles VIL of France; and great prepa- 
rations for his wedding were undertaken. In the 

* One copa equal to three score groschen. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 459 

midst of the rejoicings Ladislaus died of the plague 
then epidemic in Prague. 

By the death of the king Podebrad, who had gov- 
erned as stadtholder for fourteen years, necessarily was 
recommended by his talents and services as the most 
eminent person to be elected sovereign ; and all par- 
ties already hailed him as such. The decease of Ladis- 
laus also liberated young Mathias of Hungary son of 
the great Hunyadi. He was at once elected king of 
that country; and Podebrad bestowed on him his 
daughter Katharina. On March 2nd, 1458, George 
Podebrad was formally and amid univeral enthusiasm 
elected king of Bohemia.* All the constituent por- 
tions of the kingdom, Silesia, Lusatia and Bohemia, 
swore allegiance. Only a few German Catholic cities 
opposed, and they speedily submitted. 

So much dissent lingered in the provinces that it 
became necessary to oppose force to the turbulence of 
the malcontents. Moravia first felt the new king's 
firm hand. Olmiitz, Briinn, Znaim, Hradicht and 
Unczov made a show of resistance. Iglau alone held 
out ; but a siege of four months, and the interception 
of reinforcements from Austria to the city, together 
with the aid of a thousand men under John of Rosen- 
berg, who had been the first man to bend the knee in 
homage to King George, reduced Iglav to submission. In 
the following year he marched against Lusatia and Sile- 
sia. Zdenko of Sternberg reduced the former without 
difficulty. The Silesian estates based their opposition 
to Podebrad on the fact that he was a utraquist. To 

* Goldast pretends to give from an alleged manuscript copy in the 
Vatican a Latin oath said to have been taken by Podebrad. This 
document carries its own refutation on its face; and is repeatedly con- 
tradicted by papal correspondence. No royal oath was ever taken in 
Latin. 



460 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

them the Bohemian estates wrote a formal remon 
strance declaring that they would reduce them to sub- 
mission with the strong hand in case of further de- 
lay.* The king marched. Scwernitz surrendered and 
Breslau admitted the king of Poland. At this junc 
ture Pius II. summoned the king to Mantua where a 
council had assembled. In this communication very 
respectful language was employed. George was styled 
"most illustrious son, most devoted prince and distin- 
guished promoter of faith and religion," "Your Sub- 
limity," "Your Highness," "Your Serenity," but the 
title king is pointedly withheld. f Podebrad did not 
attend; but he commissioned John of Rabenstein to 
represent him at Rome. Soon afterward Breslau sub- 
mitted. 

At that juncture the emperor found himself con- 
fronted by the angry opposition of the Austrian prov- 
ince. Extortionate imposts, and attempted curtail- 
ment of the accustomed privileges of the nobles that 
amounted usually to absolute power of life and death, 
and all between. The emperor therefore, sought the 
friendship of the king of Bohemia, until the storm 
should blow over. The two sovereigns met at Briinn ; 
and here Frederic acknowledged George Podebrad in 
the most explicit terms as king of Bohemia. A for- 
mal treaty of friendship was concluded ; and the 
princes bound themselves to each other against all en- 
emies except the pope and the apostolic chair. In 
case of disagreement all variances were to be referred 
to mutual representatives and by them decided as the 
right and justice of each case should require. The 
date of this treaty is August nth, i459,|and the place 

* This communication is a model of politeness and determination. 

f Goldast app. Doc. LXXXTII. Date isth October. 1458. 

X Goldast app. Doc. LXXXVI. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 461 

Briinn. The language recites the king's full titles with 
the addition of Duke of Luxembourg. To the Silesians 
Pius wrote exhorting them to submission. The same 
year the pope also wrote to the king ; but carefully 
omits a royal title, although he spoke of George as 
king of Bohemia to the Silesians. A formal Concord 
was established between the king and the recalcitrant 
cities of Vratislav and Namboslav, in 1460. 

At the close of the year the king proceeded to Eger 
to hold conference with the electors. Here a most 
important treaty was concluded, after much debate 
and delay, between Frederic of Saxon}^, his brother 
William, Louis of Bavaria, the marquis of Branden- 
burg and the king of Bohemia. This treaty with the 
Saxon house bound all parties to mutual help. The 
electors agreed to abstain from all molestation of Bo- 
hemia. This meeting at Eger produced the most im- 
portant consequences. The Saxon princes at first re- 
luctantly but soon afterward most cordially negotiated 
with Podebrad as king of Bohemia unreservedly. 
Prince William at first kept aloof from the meeting; 
but the king's candor, ability, and manifest fair deal- 
ing disarmed all opposition. When Prince William 
at length approached the king rode out to meet him 
with a splendid escort. The princes dismounted in 
mutual courtesy and the prince escorted the king to 
his quarters before proceeding to his own. Some 
little difficulties at first arose over some Saxon castles 
claimed by both parties. As these could not constitute 
a defense, and their maintenance was burdensome they 
were cheerfully surrendered. The king, however, stout- 
ly maintained the right of his nation to elect their sov- 
ereign. Sigismund, Albert and Ladislaus had all been 
elected, and thus obtained their only title. Over their 



462 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

own signatures^ elector Frederic and his brother Wil- 
liam and Frederic's sons Arnost and Adelbert bound 
themselves to king George in perpetual amity and 
compact to mutually esteem, favor, and defend each 
other against all men. They renounced all preten- 
sions and rights which they had or might have had 
to the throne of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Bautzen 
and lower Lusatia, and all liens in France, Bavaria 
and other German territories. George on his side 
guaranteed to them their estates in full right forever. 
A marriage contract between Frederic's younger son 
Albert and the king's daughter Zdena, and the king's 
son Hynek and Catharina daughter of Prince William 
was arranged. On the same day, April 25th, an alliance 
was concluded between King George and the house of 
Brandenburg, for mutual assistance in case of vio- 
lence from any quarter, and all controversies were to 
be amicably decided in the courts. The pope and 
emperor were excepted from the terms, so long as they 
abstained from violence. General amnesty on both 
sides followed. Still dissatisfaction continued at 
Breslau and during this year, 1460, the king confirmed 
all the privileges, customs and liberties of the city. 
During this important year, 1460 the king also greatly 
improved the coinage. The worn and debased coin 
issued during the past troubles was all called in; and 
large silver groschen or grosses minted. A new mint 
was erected. During this year an embassy of discon- 
tented nobles from Austria waited on the king asking 
for aid against the emperor. They were politely re- 
ceived; but active support withheld. The Poles who 
had plundered a part of the country were expelled. 
This incursion formed a remnant of the Breslau trouble 
when the city submitted to the king of Poland. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 463 

To make peace with Hungary a diet was called at 
Olmiitz January 25th, 1460, But the demands of the 
emperor and his opponents were both exorbitant. An- 
other diet assembled at Prague, May ist. Here noth- 
ing was effected. The king had asked the pope's as- 
sistance, and Cardinal Bessarion arrived in Vienna 
May 4th, 1460. The emperor affected disdain at the 
position of adviser assumed by the king; and on the 
other hand George complained in private that the em- 
peror violated all the pledges made to him at Briinn 
the previous year. Here the estates interposed a de- 
mand that a diet be convened to sanction the agree- 
ments. The emperor disdained to submit to the ad- 
vice of his subjects, and the negotiations terminated. 

At the beginning of this year, 1460, all the states of 
Germany became more and more rebellious; and both 
parties armed. The emperor daily declined in strength 
and influence. Prince Louis of Bavaria secretly vis- 
ited the king at Prague and formed with him a close 
alliance. The kirrg's daughter Ludmila was affianced 
to Louis' son to become his wife eight 5'ears later. 
Ten days later archduke Albert joined the league. 
In consequence of this treaty Prince Louis acquired 
a great increase of power, and king George became 
in fact the umpire between contending German princes. 

In the fall of the same year the king sent Zdenek 
of Sternberg and Prokop of Rabstein to the imperial 
court to inform the emperor that the king had not 
aided the Austrian nobles to cast off their allegiance, 
but to restrain them if the emperor would treat them 
as he ought. Also that he had intended to take the 
field against Mathias and Giskra, but that the king 
of Hungary had agreed to a diet at Olmiitz December 
6th, and if the emperor chose to send representatives 



464 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

that friendship between him and the Austrian nobles 
might be restored; otherwise the emperor might name 
a place of meeting. Frederic referred the question to 
the University^ and returned a sharp and somewhat 
menacing reply to the king. The breach grew wider 
between the emperor and his nobles and the king, and 
the two sovereigns did not meet again until two years 
later. 

In October, 1460, George allied himself still more 
closely with Louis. All former treaties were renewed 
and confirmed; but the exceptions were rescinded, 
and the princes were bound to aid each other under 
all circumstances, and in all prosecutions temporal 
and religious. A special alliance was also concluded 
against Hungary A third stipulation looked to the 
elevation of the king to the holy Roman empire and 
was to have been kept a profound secret. 

During this period the religious discussions in the 
country produced many divisions of believers. They 
received or adopted various names — Taborites, Pic- 
ards or Beghards, Bunzlauer, Adamites, Brethren, _Gaz- 
ari or Cathari and others. The king endeavoring to 
unite the strength of the country issued an edict re- 
quiring these separatists from the great body of the 
nation, the utraquists, to leave the country. But he 
determined to protect the compactata, and those who 
observed them, as he himself did. The catholics con- 
tinued to present earnest demands that all differences 
in religion be abolished. But the king allowed an 
eminent deputation to proceed to Rome on the sub- 
ject, consisting of the chancelor, a catholic, and two 
nobles, and two theologians of the utraquists. They 
were instructed to ask a confirmation of the compact. 
The answer was unfavorable and the king was required 
to abolish the cup. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 465 

While these affairs thus created local disagreements, 
the external relations of the crown with the emperor 
acquired new interest and importance. The years 1460, 
1461, found the antagonisms between the emperor and 
his disaffected subjects in Austria become more acute. 
In the year 1462 the quarrel became serious. The 
situation of the emperor seemed desperate. In this 
situation he turned for aid to the king of Bohemia 
and Paul II. Hereupon ensued a series of circum- 
stances and negotiations that rendered the king of Bo- 
hemia the arbiter not only of the kingdom of Hun- 
gary but practically of the empire itself Frederic 
had invited Pius I. to support him ; but the reply 
created such deep disappointment, that a spirit of an- 
imosity succeeded; and the emperor determined to 
make an immediate and close alliance with the king 
of Bohemia, as he knew that such a proceeding would 
wreak vengeance on pope and legate, to whom such 
an alliance was an abhorrence. That the emperor's 
indignation must have burned hotl}' is to be inferred 
from his consent to enter Bohemian territory in order 
to meet the king. The quarrel culminated in the 
open revolt of the Austrians, and the close invest- 
ment of Vienna by the insurgents. In this extremity 
aid was almost supplicated from the king of Bohe- 
mia, and the sovereign who had been refused recogni- 
tion on his election now magnanimously marched. 
Prince Victorin with a small force attempted an es- 
calade unsuccessfully. The king following with 
8,000 picked troops compelled the city to capitulate. 
Frederic acknowledged his obligations by a solemn 
and formal diploma signed December 21st, .1462.* 

The emperor in the most formal and solemn man- 
* This is the date embodied in the treaty as preserved by Goldast, 



466 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ner and by express diploma renewed and confirmed all 
the ancient rights of Bohemia, and reduced the com- 
plement of aid from the kingdom on occasion of a 
march to Rome to one half of the existing amount, re- 
leased the king from attendance on the imperial court 
except at Nuremberg and Bamberg, abolished the cus- 
tom of tearing the Bohemian banner on occasion of 
investiture, and limited the king's attendance for this 
ceremony to his own dominions, or ten or fifteen miles 
beyond the frontier. The king's official right, title 
and dignity were also solemnly confirmed, in the 
words "The most serene George of Bohemia our most 
dear kinsman." The king himself writing to the cit- 
izens of Prague describes the scene; — "He lent and 
gave to us our regalia openly in the great square of 
the town with great pomp and circumstance, in the 
presence of the princes temporal and spiritual of the 
camp and gentlemen from the various states of the 
holy empire, and having performed all the ceremonies 
due he placed us at his right hand and proclaimed us 
to the multitude, as the lawful and undoubted king of 
Bohemia, and most eminent elector;" "and so we 
have entered into an alliance with his majesty. " Further 
the emperor promised to conduct his affairs in gen- 
eral and those of this realm in particular, in accord- 
ance with the advice of the king, and also to promote 
the interests of the latter. Henceforward in the mul- 
tiplied complications involving Hungary, Austria and 
other provinces of the empire, and be3'ond it, the em- 
peror became deeply under obligations to the king of 
Bohemia, The great eminence thus conferred sug- 
gested the still higher project of having the king 
formally appointed "Conservator of the Peace through 
out the empire," which must necessarily render the 



GEORGE PO DEB RAD 467 

sovereign of Bohemia practically the ruler of Europe. 
Podebrad, however, avoided committing himself to 
this bold proposal. May 14th of this year the king 
concluded a treaty of alliance with Casimir of Poland 
at Glogau. To this point has been reserved a state- 
ment of some events that transpired in Prague imme- 
diately before the king's sudden summons to Vienna, 
. in order to preserve the continuit}' of the narrative. 

When the deputation returned from Rome the king 
found that his trusted agent had transferred his offi- 
cial services to the pope and now advocated the side 
of the discussion opposed to the king. The intricacy 
of the contention induced the king to present the sub- 
ject before a diet at Prague. Before this assembly 
he personally defended the compactata, declaring that 
they had been solemnly agreed to by the Council of 
Basle and confirmed by Pope Eugenius, and were now 
the fundamental law of the kingdom and part of the 
public law of Europe. To the disgust of the assem- 
bly the king's agent, Fantin, spoke in opposition to 
these sentiments^ and as he had traitorously combined 
with others contrary to his engagements, by royal order 
he was arrested and imprisoned and fed on bread and 
water for a week. The chancelor also was deposed. 
Fantin continued in prison until the king's return from 
Vienna, and he was then released. 

As soon as Paul II. heard that his agent had been 
imprisoned he vowed vengeance. Forthwith he de- 
clared the compactata null and void, and appointed 
Gregor Hein, a Dominican, chief inquisitor at Bres- 
lau The king wrote fully to the pope explaining the 
facts The emperor also wrote at length. Pius had 
in fact proclaimed a crusade against the king of Bo- 
hemia. But his rage proved unavailing. The princes 



468 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of Germany and France expostulated. The king of 
Bohemia, they declared, was the first prince and sol- 
dier in Europe, and the crusade against him was de- 
nounced. Death seized the pope ere his passion could 
accomplish any part of his purpose; and he was suc- 
ceeded by iEneas Sylvius, Pius II. 

Former personal acquaintance had induced the king 
to believe he might find some favor with the new 
pope.* But he proved to be a more relentless and un- 
reasoning enemy than his predecessor. By direct let- 
ters to electors and princes he incited a crusade against 
Bohemia, then in the midst of profounid peace and 
living under a religious law sanctioned by direct papal 
authority, and still m force officially. The king was 
denounced as a heretic, his subjects were not only ab- 
solved from obedience but denounced if they did not 
rebel. The first to revolt was Krussina of Lichtenberg, 
an old enemy. But he was speedily reduced. The 
king's catholic officers were required at once to aban- 
don his service. Thus wider disaffection was incited 
and set in motion. In 1466 came Jodok bishop of 
Breslau into Bohemia, and held a convention of cath- 
olics to oppose and murder the king and annul the 
compactata. This convention hurled the ban of the 
church against the king, and summoned him before 
the papal court. All subjects of Bohemia and Moravia 
were absolved from their allegiance; and a violent 
crusade declared. Zdenko of Sternberg was named 
general in Bohemia ; John of Rosenberg, brother of 
the bishop, general in Silesia; and John of Hazenberg 
in Lusatia. All the king's adherents were declared 
under ban, and denounced as heretics. The king was 

* .(Eneas Sylvius was the author of a well known history of Bohe- 
mia, published in Latin in Rorne, and in Bohemia, at Prague in 15 10. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 469 

summoned before the papal tribunal; emissaries dis- 
patched all through his territories to stir up revolt, 
and stimulate animosity. Many princes warmly expos- 
tulated against these violent and unprovoked proceed- 
ings, both in Silesia, Moravia and Bavaria. In Sile- 
sia the estates formally remonstrated, saying "We are 
the king's sworn subjects; under his reign the cath- 
olic religion has enjoyed the fullest security, and the 
publication of the ban must produce the most lamenta- 
ble strife in the kingdom." Saxony and Brandenberg 
protested in similar terms. But Rudolph the papal 
nuncio persisted, and formally denounced the king as 
a heretic, Forthwith rabellious violence spread abroad. 
In Moravia, Silesia, Lusatia and Bohemia cities rose 
in revolt; and the catholic towns of Budweis and 
Pilsen, at each religious service extinguished the 
lights, and exhibited a large sign with the motto 
'George is a heretic," accompanied with loud bell 
ringing. 

"Then," says the Chronicle, "murdering, burning, 
and plundering spread through unfortunate Bohemia. 
The afflicting and horrible times of the Hussite wars 
were again renewed." Contemporaries and Bohemian 
annalists declare that the devastation exceeded that 
of the days of Ziska and the Taborites. Troops of 
crusading bandits, hired nominally against the Turks 
were turned loose against Bohemia. From opposite 
sides they invaded the land, filled it with murder and 
fire, and combined in an entrenched camp at Riesen- 
berg castle. Their intrenchments continued discerni- 
ble for nearly four centuries. All this sudden violence 
and fury in an hour of profound peace when Boheiriia 
had begun to enjo}' a prosperity she had not known 
for two hunderd years. The king's troops assailed 



470 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tlie devastators furiously. From dawn to dusk the 
combat raged. Finally the crusaders fled in utter rout 
to Teenetz. The Bohemians pursued them to the gates 
and the tace of the land was strewn with dead bodies. 
The few who escaped fled across the frontier. This 
decisive victory greatly strengthened the king, who had 
seemed forsaken. Again at the close of the same year 
the pope thundered the ban against the king as a stiff- 
necked heretic; denounced all who should serve him; 
deprived him of all kingly power and royalty, and 
even of all succession. Nevertheless the king of Bo- 
hemia stood firm in his place and dignity. A. D. 
1466. The following year not the crusaders alone 
against the Turks but his own subjects were combined 
against Podebrad. By the pope the crown of Bohe- 
mia was conferred on Matthias of Hungary At this 
juncture George acknowledged his error, committed 
in 1461, of expelling the Taborites. He now invited 
them to return. They had been the strength of the 
kingdom under his predecessors and himself. Early 
in 1467 the king mustered his troops; and found that 
the majority were veteran soldiers, that is men unin- 
fluenced by the recent excitements. He divided his 
forces into three corps, one under his son Victorin, a 
soldier worthy of his father, the second under prince 
Henry, a patriot also true to his lineage, and the third 
composed of Bohemian knights under his personal 
command. He first marched to Eger, always true to 
him. Hereupon the nuncio at Breslau hurled the ban 
against the king, and assumed to deprive him of his 
crown. George appealed to a general council. The 
king took the field, and as Zdenko of Sternberg had 
taken several towns, John of Rosenberg, a catholic, 
was dispatched against him. Rudolph the nuncio in- 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 471 

duced this officer to forsake the king's service, and he 
concluded a truce with Sternberg, for three months. 
The bishops of Breslau and Olmiitz renounced their 
allegiance. The cities of Olmiitz, Briinn, Iglau and 
Znaim formed a league against the king to last until 
the pope chose to name another king of Bohemia. 
Up to this time many catholic nobles had adhered 
to the king but the nuncio hurled the ban against 
them. Nobly was he rebuked by William of Schwi- 
hov, as follows : — "I acknowledge myself of the cath- 
olic church, and I have never received the holy sup- 
per except under one kind But I. have no quarrel 
with the king to whom I have sworn an oath to re- 
main true. He is the most noble and the best king. 
He obliges no man to take the cup; and he is uncon- 
cerned whether a man receives the communion under 
one kind>or both. Nevertheless, holy father, you have 
included this w)iole kingdom in the ban against this 
king. This is surely not the way whereby the renown 
and the dignity of the Roman chair and of our holy 
father, or obedience to him may be made conspicuous 
in this kingdom. There are so many thousands and 
thousands of men in this land who have their mainte- 
nance in the same. Where shall these go to escape 
the ban? Must they retire to foreign lands to die of 
hunger? To place all these under the ban means 
nothing else than that men over the whole world must 
loathe and despise and hate these church quarrels?" 
Such wise and patriotic sentiments were held by 
thoughtful Bohemians; but foreigners sought only 
their own ends, whatever bloodshed might arise. 

During this interval the presumption of the bishop 
of Breslau, Jodok, drove him into the field with some 
crusading marauders from Bavaria. He beat down 



472 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Munsenberg and Frankenstein, two small places Prince 
Henry came against him. The Silesian gallantry fled 
at once; and all his adventurers were drowned or 
made prisoners. All the military stores, and four hun- 
dred siege machines were taken. Another body of 
4,000 Breslauers were utterly routed at Frankenstein. 
These crushing blows broke the bishop's presumption 
and his heart together; and on December 12th he left 
his wrath and his diocese to the nuncio. Another 
band of crusaders fell under the weight of the king's 
hand at Neersko on the frontier; and the few not killed 
'were chased out of the country. July 2nd, 1467. 

During this year the emperor Frederic assembled a 
Diet at Nuremberg to unite the empire against the 
Turks. This project was intended to deprive Bohe- 
mia of all outside aid, as the pretense of war with 
the Turks had become a well understood formality for 
a very different purpose. George not to be surpassed, 
offered a splendid contingent — every seventh man in 
his realms. Fantina, now nuncio, indignantly and ve- 
hemently reprobated the acceptance of an}^ aid from 
a heretic. The Turks had no reason to complain of 
this rejection; and it saved the man it was aimed at. 
Fantina demanded a combination of imperial powers 
against Bohemia. The German princes rejected this 
proposition; indignantly declaring that valiant George 
ought rather to be made king of the Romans, and 
leader of the common army. They also declared that 
the Diet had been convened against the Turks and 
not against Bohemia, and reproached the nuncio with 
perverting the purpose of the meeting. 

At this juncture king George received an embassy 
from Casimir of Poland to whom the pope had offered 
the crown of Bohemia if he would join the crusade. 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 473 

Casimir indignantly repudiated this proposition, and 
concluded a treaty with the king. The legate during 
these proceedings preached a crusade in Austria, and 
in 1468 Prince Victonn led an army into that region, 
as the emperor had sanctioned the legate's proceed- 
ings. Here the prince did not spare. The emperor 
sought aid from the princes. They next turned to 
Matthias of Hungary. With this prince, emperor and 
pope combined and promised him the crown of Bohe- 
mia as soon as he should have subdued that country, 
Matthias accepted these conditions and forthwith in- 
vaded Moravia. Prince Victorin must abandon Aus- 
tria and return. He could not with his small force 
encounter the invaders and he retired to Trzebitz. 
The king at once recaMed Prince Henry from Silesia, 
and marched to relieve his son. But Prince Victorin 
cut his way through the besiegers before the king's 
arrival. George and Matthias entrenched and watched 
each other for a month on the Laga. A rebellion 
headed by John of Rosenberg in Bohemia compelled 
the king to retire, and Matthias carried fire and sword 
through Moravia. Thence he invaded Bohemia, and 
with Hungarians and crusaders besieged Semtiessy. 
Here the genius of the king extricated him from a 
severe military peril. The king observed that the 
enemy were posted with woods all around them. They 
were so completely hemmed in by sawn logs and 
branches that their cavalry, constituting their chief 
force, could neither advance nor retreat. Matthias 
saw himself snared in his own toils and concluded a 
truce for a year. The king now directed his strength 
against domestic foes, Rosenberg, Guttenstein^ Stern- 
berg, Hazenburg and Schwamberg, who had overrun 
almost half Bohemia. Great indeed were the difficul- 



474 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ties encountered. Between Pisen and Budweis and 
the Moravian border not a single town remained either 
unburned or utterly plundered. Yet no provocation or 
military or national quarrel had caused this dreadful 
devastation. It was wholly the work of the pope and 
his nuncio, unprovoked, and in the midst of profound 
peace, and in direct defiance of that solemn compact 
accepted and registered by themselves. Next year the 
truce with Hungary expired and again Matthias invaded 
Moravia. The king took position on the Bohemian 
frontier near Leitomischl. Apparently the utter waste 
of the country behind him compelled Matthias to send 
the bishop of Olmiitz to King George as ambassador 
to ask a conference. After much discussion between 
the sovereigns at Sternberg in Moravia a treaty was 
concluded. The papal nuncio denounced this proceed- 
ing as made without the pope's authority. The ban 
of the church was hurled against Matthias. He there- 
fore at once deliberately broke the treaty, and had 
himself proclaimed king of Bohemia and margrave of 
Moravia at Olmiitz. The legate conducted the coro- 
nation, using a tinsel crown taken from a statue of the 
virgin. Matthias then advanced to Breslau and hav- 
ing exacted allegiance from that province and Lusatia 
he appointed Zdenko of Sternberg as his stadtholder. 
In view of the perjury and perfidy of Matthias, Pode- 
brad convoked a diet at Prague to consider the suc- 
cession. Setting aside his own valiant sons he recom- 
mended Ladislav son of Casimir of Poland, a descend- 
ant of Charles IV., and acquainted with the Bohemian 
language. A Bohemian force marched to Poland and 
made a formal tender of the crown in the following 
conditions: — Podebrad should continue king for life. 
Casimir shall intervene with the pope and furnish aid 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 475 

against all enemies. After the king's death his widow 
Johanna shall enjoy the dower territories appropriated 
to Bohemian queens. The king's sons should enjoy 
the estates already theirs, and their dignities in Bo- 
hemia. Ladislav should marry King George's daughter 
Ludmila. This last condition was not observed. 
Henceforward the king's political relations improved. 
Poland was friendly; the emperor fell away from Mat- 
thias as the latter had grown dangerously powerful; 
and the catholic lords were content with a king who 
drank not from a cup. Podebrad directed his whole 
force against Hungary. Henry and Victorin took the 
field. The former invaded Silesia and fiercely pun- 
ished the traitor lords. Victorin unfortunately was 
made prisoner in Moravia and conducted to Ofen. His 
place was well occupied by his general Strzela until 
Henry and the king arrived. Matthias was compelled to 
retire and Podebrad took post at Kremzir Here he 
personally challenged Matthias to single combat in the 
open field. But the Hungarian knew the king's skill 
and dared not face it; but kept within his entrench- 
ments. Matthias could effect nothing; and a treaty 
was concluded whereby Victorin was- set at liberty 
and acknowledged as marquis of Moravia after the 
king's death. 

Soon after these events, March 22nd, 1471, king 
George died of dropsy, in the fiftieth year of his most 
distinguished and patriotic life. His friend Rokycan 
had preceded him a few weeks to peace and rest. 
Podebrad was short of stature; robust; of light com- 
plexion, and was remarkable for his bright eyes. As 
he advanced in life he grew somewhat stout. His 
manners were eminently agreeable; and his life was 
pure. In singleness of aim for the good of his country 



476 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

no Bohemian monarch ever surpassed this most un- 
selfish and devoted king. He spoke no Latin, and 
but little German. He was naturally of a philoso- 
phizing temper, and just disposition; and was acknowl- 
edged through Europe as a most wise, sagacious ruler. 
Under him Bohemia acquired perfect independence of 
internal administration; and scarcely a thread con- 
nected the policy of the state with the empire. As a 
sovereign George Podebrad counseled, administered, 
made alliances as best suited the interests of his gov- 
ernment. Instead of being governed by the empire 
he long controlled the supreme power by the super- 
iority of his intellect and honorable policy and coun- 
sels. His great and glorious reign forms the national 
structure in midstream whereon rests the unbroken 
connection between the great struggles of the Hus- 
site reform, and the still grander triumphs of the six- 
tenth century. Schools were maintained, learning 
flourished^ the dignity of Bohemia rose high in the 
estimation of mankind. George Podebrad was great 
as a man and as a sovereign; and Bohemians are justlj' 
proud of the celebrity and eminence their country ac- 
quired under his administration. 

George Podebrad ruled Bohemia as regent and king 
about twenty-eight years. Of this period about twenty 
years were signalized by great advances in intelligence, 
industry and prosperity. The land yielded generously 
again; and with comfort returned health and cheer- 
fulness. The stream of the country's life flowed in 
fuller and more united volume. Literature, almost an- 
nihilated during the civil commotions, and regarded 
always and universally by the invaders as the especial 
object of animosity and vengeance, again diffused its 
elevating and soothing power. So fierce had been the 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 477 

fury against Bohemian books that the land was almost 
wholly denuded of literature in every form, scarcely 
a vestige of a very extensive national literature being 
discoverable. Hussite books were remarkable for 
elegance of illumination, chirography, and artistic 
bindings. Several families frequently combined to 
publish a book; and this volume was always illus- 
trated with family crests, emblems, and other artistic 
embellishments. But as with the Arabic books of the 
Moors of Spain at the same period, the beauty of the 
illuminations, and exceeding excellence and splendor 
of the manuscript, only created additional abhorrence 
in the vandal destroyers, who regarded these wonders 
of pictorial and chirographic art as the work of the 
evil one. Moorish manuscripts and mural decorations 
consisting of enlarged Arabic quotations wrought in 
stone and the beautiful friezes and mosaics of the pe- 
riod, were frequently imitated and reproduced in chris- 
tian edifices being mistaken for arbitrary ornamenta- 
tion. Many of these may yet be seen on christian 
churches. Not only the form of the letters but the 
colors of the adornment constituted an art Ave strive 
in vain to imitate. Only in the Hussite books was 
found an approach to the art of the Moors in taste and 
splendor. But all availed not before the ruthless de- 
stroyers hired by legate and crusader. Now again 
national art revived, and the freshening thought of 
the nation was clothed in many forms of prose and 
poetry, and the earnest heart of Bohemia rose again 
as of yore. All the tendencies of renewed policies 
and literary efforts exhibited an intensely national com- 
plexion; and the address of Rokycan on the final 
confirmation of Podebrad's election became the fixed 
doctrine of the state. The king of the country, and 



478 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the officials under him must be persorxs who understood 
the language, the constitution, the conditions, and 
the laws of the land. From the religious tendencies 
of the day, the freedom of discussion in public secured, 
and the radical simplicity of doctrinal belief, always 
verging on the spiritual, the sentimental, the ab- 
stractly ethical, and even in some cases the quietist 
and the mystic, it is not strange that among a simple 
people man}' sects and parties originated. Several of 
these proved to be ephemeral. The Taborites con- 
tinued as a power in the state about thirty years; but 
when their power had been broken at Lipan in 1434, 
they declined until out of the essence of their temper 
and principle was evolved the community always 
most favorably known as the Moravian Brothers. Not 
strange is it that the source whence sprang this new 
community was not single. At such periods men of 
earnest minds will frequently think alike, and create 
lines of thought that run parallel while each is mis- 
taken for the other. In such cases the most earnest 
or the most capable takes the lead, and associates his 
name with his residence or his following. According- 
ly, we find two names prominently associated with the 
gradual approximation of believers to each other 
after the death of Hus until they combined in formal 
brotherhoods. The Calixtines differed little from the 
catholics except in the double communion — calix, 
a cup. To many devout minds the essence of Chris- 
tianity needed few if any external forms. It consisted 
in purity of soul and pious adoration of the One crea- 
tor and redeemer. These persons who belonged chiefly 
to the Taborites earnestly contended for a more com- 
plete purification of the church than was then gener- 
ally promoted. Their purpose was to restore purity 



GEORGE P ODE BRAD 479 

and simplicity as most consistent with christian inno- 
cence. Among these earnest reformers we find the 
name of Gregory of Razerhertz, nephew of Rokycan, 
who became, about 1427, general superintendent of the 
churches, and practically archbishop. To him the 
more earnest of the reformers applied for counsel, as 
they had not yet seceded from the general body. "It 
is not enough," said they, "to feel our bonds, we 
must break them." The spirit of union among the 
more ardent of these persons steadily grew; but during 
the reign of Wenzel their proceedings continued only 
tentative. Under the regency of Podebrad, Rokycan 
was enabled to procure for these brethren, as they 
now styled themselves, a separate residence in a dis- 
trict of Lititz on the borders of Silesia and Moravia, 
wherein they might enjoy perfect liberty of conscience 
and of religious worship unmolested. To this region 
a large number of like-minded nobles, citizens and 
pastors removed from Prague, and other places. These 
united in one body resolving, however, never to take 
up arms as the Taborites had done. Some pastors from 
the calixtines who adopted their views supplied pub- 
lic ministrations. Throughout Bohemia and Moravia 
similar societies were formed and the catholic anger 
was aroused. The Calixtines also urged Podebrad, 
then king, to crush the new societies. They Avere 
harshly used and very many perished miserably. They 
were deprived of civil rights, and driven from towns 
and villages. Many died in the open fields of cold 
and hunger Even torture was not withheld in an 
effort to extort a confession of supposed revolutionary 
designs. Many had hands and feet cut off; others 
were dragged along the ground, quartered, or burned 
alive. Many died in prison, others lost their reason. 



4^0 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Yet these persecutions failed to diminish the num- 
bers of adherents. In 1461, Gregory Razerhertz assem- 
bled the brethren in Prague for a communion service. 
The assembly was surprised; and Gregory put to the 
torture, until he was supposed dead. He survived, 
however, until 1474, and continued faithfully to labor 
in his chosen calling. Similar persecutions pursued 
these brethren in other districts. Ordination of their 
pastors being refused they applied to the Vaudois. 
The result created a fierce persecution against both. 
Stephen, the Vaudois bishop in Austria, was burned 
along with several others. Many of this community 
fled from Austria to Bohemia and Moravia, and ac- 
quired the name of Brethren of Bohemia, a title that 
they disowned. In 1468 Podebrad published a new 
edict against them in a diet held at Prague, urging 
all persons to seize and proceed against them. All the 
prisons of Bohemia were filled with the persecuted. 
Many died in horror, others endured most cruel afllic- 
tions. Numbers fled to forests and caves; and kindled 
fires only at night lest the smoke should betray them. 
Such was the condition in 1471, when Rokycan and 
the king retired from earthly contentions. 

A still more eminent person in the history of the 
evangelical movement in Bohemia was Peter of Chel- 
cic (Keltschitz). Born it is believed about 1390 he 
studied for some time at the university of Prague; 
but did not obtain a high degree although he acquired 
much scholastic learning. Peter exhibited from the 
outset the strict doctrine of the Waldenses. His writ- 
ings exhibit almost a verbal repetition of the Nobla 
Leycon, that noble metrical statement of the Vaudois 
creed. "Pure and true Christianity," wrote Peter in 
his "Sunday Lectures," one of the few of his works 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 481 

that survive, "prevailed only in the primitive church, 
that is to say up to Constantine the Great, whom Syl- 
vester introduced to the bosom of the church. Con- 
stantine embraced the christian faith without chang- 
ing his mode of life.. But in accepting this religion 
wherein all his empire followed him Constantine in- 
troduced into it all the pagan laws, and from that 
time Christianity became thoroughly pagan. On one 
side the pope allowed the emperor to be both pagan 
and christian at the same time; and on the other side 
the emperor enabled the pope to share in the wealth 
and grandeur of the world," This doctrine is word 
for word the language of the Nobla Leycon. Peter 
proclaims a social and political economy that breathes 
strongly of the same inspiration. "Christianity," he 
maintains, "is the empire of the spirit and of liberty 
whereby man is naturally promoted to good; God 
wishes no man to be forcibly thrust toward him; and 
virtue enforced is no longer virtue." "Paganism in- 
troduced power and disorder into Christianity; hence 
the necessity for laws. Hence all power, all adminis. 
tration, all public functions, all titles are of pagan 
origin. The good christian departs from the law of 
God if he accepts a public charge or a title; first, be- 
cause he ought to abstain from every thing that comes 
from sovereign authority, from all that is contrary to 
the church as Christ made it; and secondly, because 
all christians ought to be equal in presence of wealth 
of faith and of charity; that they should recognize 
neither royalty, nor public functions, nor titles, nor 
distinctions." That such sentiments should excite 
the ire of rulers in church and state, in those days of 
absolutism of emperor over magistrate, and of pope 
over all, can occasion no surprise. They embody 



482 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

christian socialism in its most radical form. Yet 
these devotees sought only the equal union of every 
soul with God all through its earthly care.er. The la- 
bors of Peter Chelcicky created a wide and lasting 
effect. His correspondence was increasing, and of 
great extent. His letters were eagerly sought, and 
read with avidity. His disciples multiplied; and 
shortly after his death became organized, chiefly from 
among his followers, the community known through 
out the world as the "Moravian Brothers. " Eminently 
practical in his views, Chelcicky sought only the good 
of mankind by cultivating the better nature of men 
and not by punishment of any kind. He denounced 
punishment of criminals except by converting them 
to good. In this respect his doctrine has found ac- 
ceptance in every modern social system; and he may 
be justly styled the author of prison reform. The date 
of his death and the place of his repose are alike un- 
known. 

The influence of the Waldenses had been for nearly 
three cenutries very potent in Bohemia; and the aims 
of these earnest persons had been directed chiefly to 
practical reforms in human conduct. Even ^neas 
Sylvius who visited Tabor while it was yet a strong 
hold confirms the presence and the potency of the old 
Waldensean peculiarity among the Taborites. "It is 
the shame of the Italian priests," he says, "that not 
one of them seems to have read the New Testament ; 
but among the Taborites you will scarcely find a girl 
who cannot reply to you from the New Testament and 
the old." The frequent public discussions, that had 
become largely also political debates, maintained divis- 
ions of sentiment during the reign of Podebrad. The 
numerous church synod at Kuttenburg in 1441 only con- 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 483 

firmed the participants in their views and resolution 
to maintain them. Doctrinal investigations engaged 
the attention of all parties. A final disputation at 
Kuttenburg in 1443 created no modification of opinion ; 
but at the diet in 1444 the Taborite party as the rul- 
ing power in the state yielded to the Calixrines. The 
chief enemy of the Taborites, John of Rosenberg, 
secured a strong combination against them. He pro- 
posed a national contribution for a crusade ; but Bohe- 
mia sustained the principle of reform, while it rejected 
one special phase of it. 

An Italian observer at the Court of Matthias Cor- 
vinus has left a description of the Bohemians of his 
day, the exact period when they were most venom- 
ously stigmatized as fiends; "The Bohemians, indeed, 
excel other nations in stature, and in strength and 
beautj' of person, comeliness of hair, and suavity of 
manners. They pay rather an excess of attention to 
their personal appearance and style of hair, and are 
most neat and even luxurious in dress and style, and 
yet naturally adapted to war and enjoyment. They 
are sociable and affable, and perhaps excessively in- 
clined to cultivate friendship." Even King Matthias 
is declared to have said, "I confess that the Bohe- 
mians are warriors b}' birth, — a most conspicuous race 
of men, especially attentive to their persons and their 
looks, eager for war and most prompt toward danger. 
In person they are tall and handsome ; great is their 
contempt for death; and their address captivating." 

Even the dreadful excesses of the Hussite wars pro- 
duced no change in the nationalist tendencies of Bo- 
hemia. The sentiment of national unit)^ still reigned 
supreme, although manifested with asperity toward 
the weaker party. It spoke through all the policy of 



484 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Podebrad. The king's strong sense and steady rule 
held a dignified relation with all neighboring princes. 
He understood and .clearly pointed out the dreadful 
political crime committed in the assaults on Bohe- 
mia, when the strength of the country was all needed 
against the common assailant — the Turk. In one letter 
to Matthias he said, "Dear Brother: --You can yourself 
bear testimony that the Bohemians under your own 
and your father's command have very often broken 
the fierce assaults of the Turks, have passed over 
slaughtered heaps of the enemy, and have overcome 
every peril with undaunted manliness." ^neas Syl- 
vius bears still higher testimony ; — "The Bohemians 
have in our times by themselves gained more victories 
than many other nations have been able to win in all 
their history." In the king's family, literature of the 
highest order was earnestly studied and promoted. 
Prince Henry cultivated poetry with taste ; and the 
king himself conducted correspondence with the pope, 
with kings and princes, in language remarkable for dig- 
nity and force. His rule in most respects afforded an 
excellent example of the general aims and principles 
of the reformers. Under his reign Bohemia rose 
again ; and its people though divided on questions of 
detail enjoyed a large measure of contentment. After 
the king's death a fruitful cause of contention was 
found in the property of the suppressed monasteries. 
The nation had claimed the right to resume these 
estates, and bestow them on persons deemed most 
loyal to the country. This principle has never been 
accepted by monastic orders, that have always regard- 
ed themselves as superior to all national control. 

Six principal claimants now appeared for the Bohe- 
mian crown. Matthias Covinus of Hungary, the con- 



GEORGE PODEBRAD 485 

stant enemy who still held part of Moravia; King 
Louis of France; Prince Vladislav of Poland; Al- 
bert, duke of Saxony; duke Henry of Munsterberg, 
son of the late king ; and Frederic the emperor. Mat- 
thias, notwithstanding his prowess and renown, was 
promptly informed that he should never reign over 
Bohemia. Prince Vladislav, a youth of fifteen, son of 
Casimir king of Poland was elected after a long de- 
bate. No power, imperial or other as yet disputed 
Bohemia's right to select her own ruler. Even when 
the crown descended lineally an election was neces- 
sary. Matthias finding his ambition defeated, at once 
sought revenge; and desolated many towns and dis- 
tricts in Moravia, Casimir in return interposed feebly 
in Hungary. The young king's coronation proceeded. 
He swore before quitting Poland to observe the con- 
ditions imposed; to adhere to the election of the late 
king ; to maintain the compact, and to uphold only 
such an archbishop as would act with paternal care 
equally toward catholics and utraquists; to maintain 
the rights, liberties and possessions of the nobles, 
knights and municipalities, and to entrust the fortress 
of Carlstein wherein the crown and regalia were de- 
posited to no person without the consent of the es- 
tates; to appoint no alien to public office in Bohemia ; 
to employ his utmost endeavors to have the ban of 
the church removed from King George and his friends ; 
not to alienate any portion of the kingdom of Bohe- 
mia ; to concede the allowances conferred on Queen 
Joanna ; and to release Prince Victorin from impris- 
onmient ; to pay the troops who had suffered losses on 
behalf of King George ; and to live in peace with the 
German princes and electors, and to reimburse the 
duke of Saxony his expenses incurred on behalf of 



486 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Bohemia. From these conditions will readily be seen 
the very strong hold obtained by the late king on the 
hearts of his countrymen. 

Having expelled the Poles, Matthias returned to 
Moravia and seized the greater part of the province. A 
Bohemian force routed him ; but was unable to re- 
duce Kolin. Matthias had a strong party in Moravia 
arising solely from catholic sympathies, although 
the province had always been an integral portion of 
the Bohemian dominions. This contest alarmed Rome 
by reason of the threatening attitude of the Turks; 
but negotiations at Neiss in Silesia produced no re- 
sult. This vicious contest arose solely from the cor- 
onation of Matthias in Moravia by certain ecclesias- 
tics, although he possessed no rights of any kind to 
hold authority therein. Matthias fearing an irruption 
of the Turks concluded a truce for three years; but 
violated it almost immediately. Casimir interposed 
by force in Silesia; and was aided by a force of Tar- 
tars; and before Breslau a truce for three years and 
a half was concluded. November, 1474. Great festiv- 
ities and negotiations ensued in Prague., A peace 
was concluded which gave Vladislav a portion of Si- 
lesia, and Matthias upper Silesia and Moravia. In 1478 
the Turks again advanced; the truce of Breslau ter- 
minated and war was renewed. Both sides were soon 
exhausted. Matthias held Moravia and upper Silesia, 
and a portion of Bohemia; set Prince Victorin at 
liberty ; retained Pilsen and. Budweis in Bohemia. 
Vladislav held a larger portion of Silesia. Each 
king took the title of king of Bohemia. Should Mat- 
thias die without a direct heir all Bohemia should re- 
vert to Vladislav; but if he left an heir the king of 
Bohemia should pay him one hundred thousand ducats 



KING VLADISLAV 487 

for that portion of Bohemia till retained. In 1480 an 
attempt to reconcile all religious parties produced a 
serious breach between the utraquists and the king; 
and the former discovered that paper promises did not 
overweigh longstanding disagreements. The utraquist 
preachers were imprisoned for some bold utterances, 
and the true spirit of the new dynasty became appar- 
ent. The overzealous population of Prague grew 
excited over the changed condition of affairs; and 
public commotion between the two parties ensued. 
Many German councilors were installed; and the re- 
cent settlement seemed threatened with rapid viola- 
tion and rejection. Some councilors were thrown 
from the v/indows; monasteries and churches were 
again attacked; and man}' Jews beaten. The king re- 
tired to Moravia to avoid the plague; but the Poles 
whom he had introduced into the country and placed 
around himself became the cause of serious animosi- 
ties. To terminate these troubles Vladislav assem- 
bled a diet at Kuttenberg where a religious peace 
for thirty-one years was agreed on. The conditions 
were these; -The catholics and adherents of the cup 
(Kelchner) shall not insult each other; nor assault each 
other, whether they be temporal or spiritual persons; 
their priests of whatever rank they may be princes, 
nobles, knights or burghers on both sides, shall 
preach the word of God freely; they shall not abuse nor 
insult each other as heretics; princes, nobles, knights, 
burghers, who take the supper under one kind shall 
not assail those priests and their adherents who drink 
of the cup; the}^ shall each in freedom seek the sal- 
vation of their souls according to their own dogmas 
and usages; the princes, nobles, knights and bur- 
ghers who confess themselves as of the cup shall 



488 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

conduct themselves toward the other party so as 
not to oppress those who take the hoi)' supper under 
one kind ; the contract with the council of Basle 
shall be upheld and in force ; every person violating 
this agreement to be banished from the country. 

Peace soon followed between Matthias, Casimir and 
Vladislav; and in i486 the electors chose the arch- 
duke Maximilian emperor, but did not invite .Vlad- 
islav to participate. Here was a serious breach. 
The emperor, however, sought to appease the suscep- 
tibilities of Bohemia by negotiation which was pur- 
posely protracted. At length the consolatory stipula- 
tions were obtained. I. Recognition of the freedom 
of the kingdom. II. An acknowledgment that in 
future an election of emperor without the participation 
of the king of Bohemia should not occur. Ill, Stip- 
ulation that the king should be released from feudal 
obligations. IV. That he should be released from 
the duty of accompanying the kaiser or other king of 
the Romans on an expedition to Rome either in per- 
son or by his embassy, and in lieu thereof should pay 
eight hundred golden crowns. 

Through the death of Matthias Moravia and Silesia 
reverted to Bohemia. 

The election of Vladislav, last king of Hungary, fol- 
lowed in July, 1491; and a dreadful conflict ensued. 
The king led into his new dominions a strong force 
known as the black legion; and continued in Hungary 
seven years greatly to the injury and neglect of Bo- 
hemia. New religious contentions arose. An assem- 
bly was held in Ofen in 1494; and Pope Alexander VI. 
sent a legate. No results followed as the pope wholly 
rejected the cup. This refusal created an increasing- 
ly widened separation of Bohemia from papal author- 



KING VLADISLAV 489 

ity; and the nation as such ceased to acknowledge it. 
In 1495 an embassy besought the king's return; and 
engaged to assist him against the Turks with fifteen 
thousand men. The king entered Prague in triumph 
in 1497; but remained only four months. Serious con- 
tentions had arisen between the nobles and the mu- 
nicipalities; the latter necessarily advancing in wealth 
and power. The king also arranged the respective re- 
lations of the nobles in their degrees; and hastened 
to Hungary with his queen Anna of France. A close 
combination of the cities against the nobles speedily 
followed. Civil war spread and all Bohemia was filled 
with petty strife. But the intervention of some of the 
chief nobility, who remembered the recent disasters 
of the country, effected an accommodation. 

In 1504 war followed against Maximilian, who was 
engaged in strife with Pfalzgraf Rupert. At Regens- 
burg a fierce battle again demonstrated before Max- 
imilian's eyes the spirit of Bohemia ; and in admiration 
he made peace, dismissed his prisoners, and took a 
large force of Bohemians into his pay and to them 
entrusted cities and fortresses. 

In 1509 Vladislav returned to Prague for the pur- 
pose of securing the succession to the crown for his 
son Ludwig. The coronation took place the same 
year, the boy being only two years and eight months 
old. During the ceremony the princess Anna, a little 
older than Ludwig, asked why a crown was not given 
to her too. Vladislav, to gratify the child, set the 
crown in her hand, whereat the multitude exclaimed 
that the princess Anna should be queen if her brother 
should leave no heir. Thus readily is a mixed assem- 
blage excited! 

In 151 1 the success of Vladislav's reign was 



490 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

complete. The religious truce of 1485 was sol- 
emnly renewed; and the Bohemian, Moravian, Si- 
lesian and Lusatian deputies assembled in a united 
diet at Glatz. A solemn and formal compact was 
effected between the deputies present, and they bound 
themselves to each other to punish all peacebreakers, 
and to maintain the public tranquillity, and for the 
first time in nearly a century quiet reigned throiighout 
the land. The impetus given to Bohemian self-asser- 
tion as mistress of her own mind between 1421 and 
1434 was felt through the subsequent years, and se- 
cured at last this great and dignified position. 

A crusading army gathered in Hungary in 1514, mu- 
tinied and plundered and murdered. With the aid of 
a strong Bohemian force order was restored. In 1515 
Vladislav, his brother Sigismund king of Poland, 
and his son Ludwig, crowned king of Bohemia, were 
received at Vienna by Maximilian and a splendid dem- 
onstration in their honor. Here young Ludwig by 
formal decree w^as invested with the dignity of an im- 
perial prince; and named Stattholder of the Roman 
empire. Vladislav enjoyed these honors but a few 
months. He was seized with a fatal illness at Ofen 
and died on the 13th of March, 1516. Without dis-' 
tinguished talents, or greatness of character, Vladis- 
lav was honorable and prudent. He recognized the 
conditions prevailing among his subjects and wisely 
accommodated himself to them. 

Vladislav was succeeded by his only son Ludwig, 
already crowned king. By the will of the deceased 
sovereign three guardians had been appointed for his 
son, namely Thomas, archbishop of Gran, George 
Margraf of Brandenburg Anspach, and John Bornem- 
esse a nobleman of Hungary. By these men the boy 



KING LUDWIG 491 

was neglected, amused with frivolous shows, and 
brought up in indolence. Soon after his accession a 
demand for the full possession of the royal power was 
forwarded to Bohemia. The estates replied that no 
king should ever reign in Bohemia until he had on 
oath confirmed the liberties and rights of the kingdom. 
The next diet exercised great influence in com- 
posing the contentions between the nobles and the 
cities; and took active measures to subdue the rob- 
ber chiefs who had fortified themeslves in different 
places. At this conjuncture — 1519 — Maximilian I. 
died; and as the young king had only reached his 
thirteenth year he could not take part in the election. 
Intrigues soon developed to control the vote of Bohe- 
mia by the appointment of a guardian for the king. 
This position was coveted by the king of Poland for 
his own purposes. Finally Charles of Spain was 
elected. The growing discontent of the people at 
length compelled Ludwig and his advisers to yield; 
and he returned with his court to Bohemia, where he 
had long been a stranger. He engaged, however, 
formally to confirm the rights of the kingdom' in per- 
son, as his father had promised for him at his corona- 
tion. The coronation of the young queen was per- 
formed in 1522 the king himself placing the emblem 
of royalty on her head. No personal associations or 
friendly ties, however, had bound the king to his sub- 
jects of any rank. He soon quarreled with his no- 
bles; and as his wishes were not complied with he 
again quitted the kingdom and appointed Karl of Mun- 
sterberg, grandson of King George, stattholder of the 
kingdom. Ludwig's quarrel with the nobles recom- 
mended him to the citizens. He united the old and 
new town of Prague and gave the inhabitants many 



492 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

proofs of his friendliness to them. The poverty of the 
crown may be understood from the fact that many of 
the royal demesnes still stood mortgaged for large 
sums; and even the personal property of the sovereign 
had been pledged. In these circumstances it was easy 
to issue orders for these debts to be paid and troops 
raised to meet the increasingly menacing advance of 
the Turks. Long contentions and disasters persist- 
ently provoked by outside interests had produced want 
where native energy had but recently created abund- 
ance. 

Again in the absence of her sovereign, and in the 
decadence of the government, Bohemia felt the first 
breath of another and still more dreadful cyclone of 
religious contentions. The country still felt the fitful 
blasts of the doctrinal gales that whirled and eddied, 
in broken gusts through the country. The "signs of 
the times," and the tokens of religio-meteorological 
convulsions raised an ominous storm signal before 
many minds; and their prognostications of coming 
tempests were speedily verified. Bohemia was then 
replete with religious sects, all of whom had totally 
repudiated the right of Rome to interfere with them, 
much less to coerce their consciences. Bohemia had 
ceased to be a catholic country. The zeal of her mis- 
sionaries had repeated her claims to mental freedom 
in all surrounding lands; and the basis of her de- 
mands, both doctrinal and national, had for a century 
been perfectly understood and acquired wide-spread 
sympathy. The rights obtained by the Bohemians 
largely filled the hopes of the peasants and commer- 
cial classes in Europe. For these rights they had 
struggled by peasant wars and otherwise for five cen- 
turies; and the time was not only ripe, but was in 



KING LUDWIG 493 

Bohemia the harvest time long and earnestly strug- 
gled and prayed for. The very crusades against Bo- 
hemia had sounded her doctrines, and her ancient 
constitution in every hamlet in Europe, and time had 
been afforded to thoroughly examine them. In this 
condition of preparation for a still more extensive 
and complete re-assertion of rights that had gradually 
been undermined, and broken up, and of religious and 
social principles that had organized churches and 
communities during many centuries, — as men claimed 
in continuation of the first systems of Christian belief 
and life, new tidings reached Germany and Bohemia 
that another, and to all appearance still mightier, ad- 
vocate than Hus had arisen who caused to resound 
with a thousand-fold louder tone the welcome and 
now familiar cry of a" reform in doctrine and conduct 
in the church. 

Hardly had King Ludwig retired from Prague in 
1523 when Zawel Czahera a native of Saaz, and an 
auditor of Luther at Wittenberg, arrived with some of 
the Saxon controversalist's books. Property of this 
kind — books of any kind— had long been objects of 
hostility in Bohemia, and since the death of King 
George had been destroyed wherever they fell into the 
hands of the Rosenberg partizans. Czahera was a 
priest and preacher at the Tyn church ; and at once 
commingled the Saxon reformer's earnest principles 
with his sermons. At once a. sensation was created. 
The dormant controversial spirit awoke. As many 
new religious divisions arose again as there were 
preachers, and these were many. The new phase of 
religious faith had much in common with those al- 
ready established in every hamlet, and still presented 
some novel features. Great indeed was the astonish- 



494 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ment tliat so mighty a reform should be announced 
from Germany — a land whence had issued for centu- 
ries from priests and nobles the most formidable and 
persistent hostility to all changes in church doctrine 
or discipline. But when Germany did revolt a- 
gainst what she now denounced as delusions she re- 
volted grandly. When Germany is united she is mag- 
nificent. She has learned to beware of the dividing 
wedge of ecclesiastical intrusiveness. The old rest- 
iveness was revived in Prague. Dissensions chiefly 
of words again filled the city. Some of the most zeal- 
ous partizans were banished, to spread their denuncia- 
tions still more widely. The utraquists assembled in 
the Carolinum and selected Zavvel Czahera as director. 
The utraquists being the stronger party overcame the 
catholics, who complained to the king. Ludwig dis- 
patched a deputation to quiet matters. The estates 
assembled; money and troops were demanded against 
the Turks; the estates resisted. Then bishop Thurzo, 
one of the deputation in open session opened the 
king's written message, which had hitherto been con- 
cealed, and read it requiring that in future only cath- 
olics and utraquists should be endured in the king- 
dom; that all other sects, such as Picards, (Beghards,) 
Bohemian brothers, and adherents of Luther must be 
banished from the city of Prague. This most illegal 
and t3'rannical declaration, which certainly did not 
originate with the sovereign, at once created an up- 
roar, Czahera declaimed more earnestly than before. 
Many of the Picards were imprisoned, and branded 
with red hot iron; several were burned, and thousands 
banished from the kingdom. This persecution chiefly 
affected the poor. The rich readily combined; and 
the cruel order was revoked. 



JilSE OF LUIHERANISM 495 

During these commotions the Turkish woe des- 
olated Hungary. With a clamorous appeal the 
king sought aid from the kingdom he was at 
that moment engaged in oppressing and depopulat- 
ing. A diet was summoned and aid most scan- 
tily furnished. Even such auxiliaries as were as- 
sembled followed the flag of individual nobles, and 
on this occasion most reluctantly. Counsels in the 
christian camp were divided; the spirit of Europe 
was cowed by repeated disasters arising from contin- 
uous internal quarrels. On the fatal field of Mohacz, 
the christian army after dreadful slaughter fled in ut- 
ter rout; and King Ludwig died miserably in the mud 
of, a stream where his horse fell over him. in attempt- 
ing to ascend the bank. August 29, 1526. On that 
direful day Hungary was laid prostrate. The furious 
Turks slaughtered the fleeing wretches, but the flash of 
their scimitars did not even yet reflect to the blinded 
eyes of Europa the glare of putrescence which arose 
from the baleful light of her bigotry. 

At the opening of the reformation in the sixteenth 
century the religious condition of Bohemia has been 
fully described by the distinguished scholar, Erasmus 
of Rotterdam — a reformer in spirit but not in practice. 
"The kingdom of Bohemia," he says, "and the mar- 
gravate of Moravia are divided into three principal 
religions. The first is the catholic. To this belong 
the greater portion of the chief nobles ; one royal city, 
and the monasteries of different orders which once 
were very rich, but have been for some time destroyed, 
cr their property taken from them. The second re- 
ligious union consists of those who celebrate the holy 
communion under both kinds. To these belong only 
a few of the nobles, the greater part of the knightly 



496 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

order, and about thirty of the cities of the kingdom. 
These observe all the sacraments of the church, and 
comply with all ceremonies and usages of the Roman 
church from which they differ only in celebration of 
the holy supper under both kinds, and that they chant 
the epistle and gospel in the mass in the national 
language. They affirm that the council of Basle per- 
mitted these two principles, and the force of the com- 
pact has confirmed them. They hold firmly to these 
two church usages. They teach further that by par- 
ticipation in the one kind — the bread in the holy sup- 
per, they receive one grace, and by participation in the 
other kind — the wine — they receive another grace from- 
God, besides that received under both kinds. The 
third religious party in Bohemia are the Picards. 
This title they have received from a refugee from Pic- 
ardy who formerly instructed Ziska and his soldiers in 
his doctrine. Under the reign of King Vladislav this 
party became very strong during the time that the 
king was absent in Hungary and concerned himself but 
little with what the Bohemians did if only they kept 
quiet. These people hold the pope, the cardinals 
bishops and other spirituals to be only miserable an- 
tichrists. The pope assails them with the most abom- 
inable names and rejects all their teachers, principles, 
ordinances, interpretations, and statutes. They elect 
bishops and priests for themselves who are chiefly 
rude, unlearned and depraved people. They address 
each other as brothers and sisters. The Bible alone 
has with them power and authority. They reject as 
well the old as the new learning, and despise their 
books and teachers. Their religious meetings are con- 
ducted without vestments. Their only prayer is the 
Pater Noster with which they consecrate their sour 



SPREAD OF EDUCATION 497 

bread, The}' hold almost none of the sacraments of 
the church. They devote themselves to their own 
communit)' without any infant baptism, and make use 
of neither holy water nor salt. They reject holy unc- 
tion. They believe that in the holy sacrament of the 
altar there is nothing divine but simple bread and 
wine; therefore they hold it to be idolatrous to kneel 
before them. Invocation of saints and prayers for the 
dead, likewise auricular confession, and penance im- 
posed b}' priests, are with them idle and ridiculous 
things. Wakes and fasts they pronounce a cloak of 
hypocrisy. Purgatory they hold to be an idle inven- 
tion. However, they observe Sunday, Easter, Wit- 
suntide, and Christmas. It would be tedious to relate 
all their errors. When the first two communities 
united, men could not with the king's help combine 
opinions so as to overpower or separate this third 
party." The title Picards, or Beghards, was only a 
contemptuous epithet applied to the Bohemian breth- 
ren. This congregation was formed from very many 
small branches existing in various towns who were 
gradually united when the suitable mind appeared to 
organize them. These communities had produced, 
long previous to the year 1500, many distinguished 
teachers. Many of the cliief nobles accepted their 
principles. One of the most distinguished of these 
reformers and educators— Martha of Boskowitz, a 
very eminent lady, and principal of a flourishing 
school for the daughters of the nobility, long continued 
one of their foremost defenders. 

During the period intervening between 1460 and 
1520 classical literature, and all the scholarship of 
the day, were brilliantly cultivated, and many eminent 
scholars adorned the chairs of the Carolinumo The 



498 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

art of printing was introduced. In 1476 quarto vol- 
umes were produced at Pilsen. Among others the 
"Statuta Provincialia Ernesti." In 1478 and 1483 the 
records of the diet were printed. In 1487 a Psalter; 
and in 1488 an entire Bible and many other works in 
the Bohemian speech appeared at Prague. In 1489 
another complete Bible in Bohemian was published. 
Architecture also can boast of a distinguished pupil 
— Benesch von Laun. He built for king Vladislav the 
palace known as the Spanish Hall, completed in 1502; 
and many other structures. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



THE DECADENCE OP^ BOHEMIA. 



In the same year — 1526 — assembled a very numer^ 
ous diet at Prague. Alter earnest debates a com^ 
mittee of twenty-four was appointed to report the se^ 
lection of the future ruler. The choice fell on Ferdi- 
nand, archduke of Austria. This prince acknowledged 
the favor thus conferred upon him in three important 
respects. He thanked the estates; and returned his 
solemn promise to defend the Bohemian kingdom, 
Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia, against all assaults; to 
maintain the privileges and liberties of the kingdom 
and the compact, and to govern according to them; 
to defend the castle of Carlstein and the regalia and 
treasures therein; and to permit no part thereof to be 
removed from the country; not to select foreigners for 
official station; to restore a good coinage; and re- 
build the defenses. Likewise he promised to confirm 
the charters of King Vladislav, to govern the king- 
dom according to the laws and usages of the kings, 
his predecessors and especially Charles IV. ; and 
finally to reside in his capital city of Prague. Ferdi- 
nand formally visited his dominions, introduced im- 
provements, and immediately proceeded to Vienna. 
Here he negotiated with John Zapolya, chief of the 
"Seven cities" league, who aspired to the crown of 
Hungary. This reformatory movement included five 
cities and twelve towns all combined in favor of Lu- 

499 



500 ' HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ther's reformation. Ferdinand was enabled adroitly to 
obtain diplomatic aid from Solyman to resist the pre- 
tensions of Zapolya. The Turk besieged Vienna; and 
Bohemian troops were found both among the assail- 
ants and defenders. During these occurrences new 
religious discussions created animated movements at 
Prague. Czahera the administrator of the utraquists 
adopted more comprehensive principles of reform. 
He exhorted the monks, to lay aside their vestments, 
betake themselves to useful trades, and take nuns for 
wives. Luther himself wrote to the estates advising 
them to convene in regular diet, and expounded his 
doctrines. These letters were at once distributed and 
much excitement ensued. Ferdinand hearing of these 
demonstrations at once ordered that only catholics and 
utraquists, the parties specifically named in the Com- 
pact, should reside in Prague. The king came in per- 
son to Bohemia; held a diet at Budweis, banished 
Czahera from the country; dismissed many of the city 
council; separated the jurisdiction of the old and new 
town that had been united under Vladislav; appoint- 
ed new councilors in both ; and issued a decree that 
who ever should combine these two jurisdictions or 
propose to do so should lose his property, his rank 
and his life. Ferdinand, however, confirmed all the 
former privileges of the old town — the catholic quar- 
ter, and retired to Germany. Next year — 1531, he 
was elected emperor at Cologne. Great assistance in 
men and still greater in treasure was forwarded for 
the war against the Turks ; but Ferdinand demanded 
all the cannon — in number 234, — that the lords Rosen- 
berg possessed. The latter excused themselves saying 
it was not advisable to disarm the entire kingdom. In 
1534 the sect of anabaptists arrived in Bohemia; they 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 501 

attracted attention from their skill in medicine and 
surgery. But they were utterly banished. Next year, 
i535v came a new attack of the plague, when the 
skill of the anabaptists, and the system of ablu- 
tion which they countenanced, probably would have 
rendered material aid. Thousands died miserably. 
None of the magistrates of Prague or of the clergy un- 
derstood the value of cleanliness. The city was filthy, 
and the people died in consequence. During the 
same year a Bohemian army kept the field against the 
Turks. Of these again thousands lost their lives in 
every encounter. Thus by banishment, the plague and 
the sword of the stranger was Bohemia sorely depop- 
ulated. The nation reeled under the three fold oppres- 
sion. While others ffed before the Turks the men of 
Bohemia and Silesia, disdaining to flee, were cut down 
in their ranks. Still in the following year, 1538, the 
king demanded troops; but was plainly informed that 
Bohemian soldiers always obeyed Bohemian com- 
manders. Ferdinand consented and several distin- 
guished officers took the field. But the relentless op- 
pressions practiced against the reformers of all ranks 
alread}' drove many hundreds into exile, chiefly into 
Poland, a land of a kindred nationality. These de- 
fections created uneasiness; and the king issued an 
order to confiscate ten per cent of the property of all 
persons who should quit the country. As the volun- 
tary exiles suffered great losses on removal, and the 
calculation of the ten per cent was vested in the 
king's officers, the spoliation was dreadful; yet thou- 
sands abandoned the land of their birth and of their 
pride. The utraquists summoned a convocation in' 
the Carolinam; and loudly demanded the preservation 
of the religious peace already established. The year 



502 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

following the king held a diet in Prague; made 
arrangements for the maintenance of the Turkish war, 
and speedily returned to Vienna. The year 1541 be- 
held Prague laid waste by a dreadful conflagration; 
but as hygienic purification by fire was the only method 
known the results on the health of the city, as in Lon- 
don a century later, were probably beneficial. Again 
a diet was summoned and the question of troops 
earnestly debated. Evidently Bohemia had become 
from a kingdom merely a recruiting ground for troops 
to be slaughtered in quarrels not of her own choosing, 
and wholly for the maintenance of an alien and am- 
bitious dynast}^ The same year a multitude of Jews 
who had fled before the Turks were summarily ban- 
ished. They retired to Poland, and were systematic- 
ally assailed and robbed by armed bands on the high- 
ways. At that date the rate of interest on money was 
ten per cent. Hence many persons invested all their 
property in cash; and found the operation the most 
profitable. The estates in 1543 reduced the rate to 
six per cent. As the king continued absent the rule 
of the estates became practically that of a senate. 
This body adopted two locations for its sessions; one 
in Prague, and the other at Carlstein if the first should 
be again destroyed b}' fire. At this period the war 
against the Turks abroad, and the war against Satan 
at home became the sole objects of attention.* 
Ecclesiastical offenses and sins created constant com- 
plaint. As yet no printed volume of the laws existed; 
and as the king bestowed all his rewards abroad, the 
estates decided that the consistories must punish cler- 
ical delinquents and that the public law should be 

* When the great comet appeared in the following century the sup- 
posed fateful trinity "The Devil, the Turk, and the Comet" was com- 
plete, 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 503 

formally collected -and printed in one book. Again 
the king convoked a diet, and made many promises. 
No foreigner must hold office; an archbishop must be 
named agreeable to catholics and utraquists. John 
of Hasenberg was chosen, a man brought up in the 
native language; the high school was improved; and 
its government brought into harmony with the gen- 
eral law. 

Hitherto the progress of the reformation in Ger- 
many and many other countries had created no politi- 
cal difficulties in Bohemia further than intensifying 
the feelings of the Bohemians in favor of the newly 
repeated evangel. Individually many had suffered; 
but the kingdom in its general political constitution 
had remained intact. The period had now arrived 
when the dreamy substitution of sentiment for war, 
when war had been undertaken, was to create a revo- 
lution most disastrous, widespread, and long contin- 
ued in its consequences. Since 1519 the reformed 
communities in Bohemia had corresponded with Luther 
and encouraged him. From him again they received 
new courage. That peculiar force known in modern 
language as personal magnetism had never been more 
signally exhibited by any man than by Martin Luther. 
It thrilled all within its reach, and that was nearly 
the extent of Europe. The league of Smalkald in 1531 
had for a time united the protestant powers. Bohe- 
mia as a nation entertained a strong sympathy with 
this combination; and if prayers and wishes could 
have set aside natural laws and given physical victory 
to unmilitar}^ neglect, the league must have triumphed. 
The uncertain temper, and the ambition of Maurice 
of Saxony indeed created an unhappy defection from 
the ranks of the league; but the substitution of prayers 



504 HISruRY OF BOHEMIA 

for vigilance and discipline by the elector of Sax- 
ony himself inflicted a crushing disaster. The persist- 
ent efforts of Charles V. of Germany to crush the 
protestant power had always received the moral, and 
as far as possible the physical support of Ferdinand 
of Bohemia. The weak and exhausted condition of 
the latter kingdom had never been so conspicuous in 
times of peace as in the year 1546, The Turkish wars 
had drained the land of men and money. The popu- 
lation had greatly decreased. Government scarcely 
existed, and the sovereign only visited his capital to 
enforce fresh exactions. Antipathy to the prevailing 
religious sentiments of the people had thrown aside all 
mask, and Bohemia's sworn ruler had become the de- 
clared enemy of the will of his people. In fact Fer- 
dinand formally bound himself to Charles V. at Re- 
gensbnrg, together with Maurice of Saxony and the 
Margraf of Meissen. To promote the purposes of this 
alliance the king summoned a diet at Prague, July 
27th, and attended in person. Under his authorita- 
tive interposition the following articles were accepted: 
— Twelve in a thousand of the property of every dis- 
trict shall be assessed for raising an army at once; 
this force shall serve in the field as long as the Turks 
in Hungary, or any of the electors in Germany, shall 
continue military operations, and shall act for the de- 
fense of the kingdom and the allied states; one dis- 
trict chief, and one military commander shall control 
the forces of each district, all under one commander- 
in-chief; Sebastian von Weitmuhle was named field- 
marshal. The proprietor of each four thousand shock 
of property shall supply one cavalry man and four in- 
fantry men with full equipment; nobles and knights 
must serve in person ; but each might substitute a 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 505 

son, a brother or cousin; organization shall commence 
at once, and be ready completely when the necessity 
shall be perceived, to march either against the Turks 
or other enemies of the kingdom; the force shall be 
dispatched whithersoever the king, the stattholder or 
the chief berg-graf of Prague may decide. Maurice of 
Saxony was then in Prague; and the former alliance 
between Saxony and Bohemia was renewed and con- 
firmed. 

Scarcely had these arrangements been hurriedly com- 
pleted when the estates received dispatches from John 
Frederic of Saxony wherein he reminded them of the 
reasons of his contention with the emperor, and be- 
sought them to remember the ancient compact and 
alliance, and to uphold it as it had been confirmed and 
sworn to at Eger in 1459 between the house of Sax- 
ony and the Bohemian estates, that the Saxons and 
Bohemians might not only live in strong friendship 
with each other, but also stand together against the 
common enem}'. This dispatch was openly read in the 
diet. The estates replied that they could not per- 
ceive how they could disobey the emperor as they 
had made a treaty with him. They also declined the 
offer of the monastery of Dobroluk in Lusatia, and re- 
quested its withdrawal. The elector knowing the 
real feelings of the Bohemians replied that the em- 
peror Charles V. had determined to root out the evan- 
gelical religion; for which purpose he waged the pres- 
ent war, and to banish it first from Germany and at 
last from Bohemia; he besought them once more to 
maintain their inheritance, or at least not undertake 
any measures against his sulijects their brothers and 
fellow believers. As to the monastery of Dobroluk he 
had taken possession of it when King Ferdinand had 



5o6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

seized the monastery of Grunhain. He spoke also with 
little respect of Charles and Ferdinand against whom 
he endeavored to incite the Bohemians. 

The king affixed -his proclamation of war against 
the allied electors, and Philip of Hesse throughout 
Prague in the Bohemian language. He also appended 
another declaration that all alliances between these 
electors and the emperor were now void; and at the 
same time he forbade all Bohemian nobles, lords, 
knights and barghers to extend to these electors any 
assistance in provisions or supplies; and declared that 
those who should disobey this order must suffer death. 
Soon thereafter another peremptory order required all 
the troops provided for by the estates to be ready to 
march under Sebastian von Weitmuhle. Two thou- 
sand horse and four thousand foot were required in- 
stantly to follow his own standard. The entire coun- 
try was at once in commotion. The troops assembled 
first at their district headquarters, and then marched 
to the council chambers. The king's own followers 
marched to Prague, some hussars, some footmen, the 
greater number Hungarians with eight lumbering can- 
non, each drawn by forty horses. As soon as all had 
assembled the commander-in-chief directed the march 
toward Germany. Instantly the Bohemian contingent 
was in an uproar. They insisted that they were en- 
rolled to defend the country, and not to pass beyond 
the frontier; the diet had never consented or agreed 
that they should go beyond; they now perceived that 
they were intended to wage war with the elector John 
Frederic of Saxony; they referred to the old alliance 
with Saxony, declared that these undertakings were 
proposed for an unnecessary war, and that the electors 
were grievously wronged; and finally that they felt 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 507 

no inclination to fight with their fellow believers who 
received the holy supper under both kinds. 

Intelligence of this refusal reached the king at 
Ohren ; and his rage grew deep. Instantly officers 
were dispatched to Prague to bring the troops to an- 
other mind. The hope was felt that if the men of 
Prague could be induced to march the others as usual 
would follow. B}' repeated and threatening orders the 
men of Prague and some others took the field; the 
others retired to their homes. As soon as this con- 
tingent reached Germany Weitmuhle issued his proc- 
lamation in the name of Ferdinand and the crown of 
Bohemia declaring war against the elector's domin- 
ions The seizure of Dobroluk, the attempt to create 
disaffection in the estates, the violation of old treaties 
between Bohemia and Saxony were assigned as rea- 
sons. The elector's troops were attacked — many slain 
at Adorf and Delsnitz where two thousand fell in the 
streets. Believing that these services were sufficient 
the troops clamored for their return, and resolved to 
keep the field only one other month. A few more 
towns were taken,. Zwickau, Schneeberg, Altenberg, 
Torgau and a few more, and then the army retired 
to Bohemia. Ferdinand's wrath against the recusants 
now found expression in the most truculent order?. 
Many of the commanding officers of the contingent 
that had refused to march were imprisoned and con- 
demned to death; some were beheaded, of whom a 
noted person bore the ominous name Tabor. Many 
others whose contingent had failed to arrive were 
thrown into'prison. Bohemia was not only prostrate 
but in the uncontrolled power of her most cruel and 
relentless enemies, as soon as they chose to crush her. 
Ferdinand well understood the exhausted condition of 



5o8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the country, her want of allies, the combination of her 
foes,- the depletion of her treasury by his own exac- 
tions, and the divisions among her friends. He was 
a man of vigorous mould, and stern stoical character; 
and he displayed to an exaggerated degree the pecu- 
liar personal features of the Habsburg family. His 
unusually thick lips obtained for him the title Hu- 
bachek; and he prided himself on his unyielding tem- 
per. Animated by his education and surroundings by 
the most violent hatred of all reform movements he 
lent his brother Charles V. the most zealous and un- 
scrupulous assistance in all the most violently repres- 
sive efforts against the recalcitrant preachers and 
princes of the empire. Herein Charles and Ferdi- 
nand laid the foundation of that retroactive system 
which has been felt with most consuming and crush- 
ing power in their own dominions ever since. By the 
arbitrar}/ system they adopted all elasticity and inde- 
pendence of mind were annihilated for ages in their 
provinces, and these have necessarily sunk under the 
force which destroyed the best elements in their peo- 
ple. In 1547 furious and irritated bigotry held high 
carnival in Bohemia. The king's first measure indi- 
cated his full knowledge of his kingdom's prostra- 
tion. He issued a peremptory order for a general en- 
rollment without any appeal to the estates and solely 
on his own authority. The imperial policy to annihi- 
late municipalities and national councils found its first 
application in Bohemia. , The king's proceedings were 
utterly subversive of the fundamental law and consti- 
tution of the kingdom, which no king had ever dared 
to assail, and Ferdinand himself had solemnly sworn 
to maintain. His acceptance of the offer of the crown 
was accompanied with the following pledge among 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 509 

many others similar. "We likewise promise to keep, 
observe, and effectively to protect without hindrance, 
and opposition from any person whomsoever, the king- 
dom of Bohemia, all barons, knights, the cities of 
Prague and others, and the whole population of that 
kingdom according to the laws, ordinances, privileges, 
liberties, immunities and donations of the kingdom 
and all other anciently kept good usages, and espec- 
ially those of King Otakar of divine memory, King 
John, the emperor Charles, King Wenceslaus, the 
emperor Sigismund, King Albert, King Ladislaus, 
King George, King Vladislaus, and all rescripts is- 
sued by them, and maintained until their death."* 
The king's order was distributed through every dis- 
trict and in every city, and declared; "The aforesaid 
elector of Saxony, John Frederic, will subdue Bo- 
hemia, and the territories of Duke Maurice of Saxony 
and Meissen; he has already seized the monastery of 
Dobroluk and the districts of Insterwald and Sonne- 
wald. The estates of lower Lusatia as adjuncts of the 
crown of Bohemia desire protection, wherein the Bo- 
hemians are already guilty toward them, and also to 
Duke Maurice, the strength of the alliance between 
Saxony and Bohemia which was confirmed at the recent 
landtag. We as king of Hungary will personally lead 
into the field fourteen thousand men of our own sub- 
jects. The emperor, our brother, commands our aid. 
The men of Lusatia, Silesia, and Moravia are already 
in motion. The Bohemian army must also take the 
field.- For thi^ purpose must every retainer provide 
a man and horse, or three footmen for each thousand 
shock of property; and with them must each proprie- 
tor personally appear at Leitmeritz on the Monday 

* Goldast App. Doc. p, 207. 



5IO HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of Paul's conversion and his men- also with weapons, 
money, and other supplies for one month; and if it 
shall be necessar}', shall remain another month, and 
take the field in person with them. Finally either 
we, the king or our son the archduke shall command 
in person. Whoever shall disobey this our order, 
shall, under the law of land tenure, lose his rank, his 
property and his life." January 12, 1547. This de- 
cree created the greatest commotion. Every law, 
principle and usage of the country was violated. The 
people of Prague although submissive in some mat- 
ters were still Bohemians. They speedily assembled 
and formulated vigorous remonstrances. When their 
deputies appeared before the king he addressed them 
in heated language. In the genuine arbitrary spirit 
he exclaimed, "What we require is for your good, and 
you are guilty to act thus. And we say further that 
3'our estates are the cause of all the misfortunes which 
have happened during the war and which happen still. 
God will punish this disobedience." The deputies 
protested their innocence, saying they were not mas- 
ters of other people's thoughts. The king replied, 
"We have told you our mind and we can give you no 
other decision. This is not the first time you have 
exhibited this disobedience toward us." The depu- 
ties drew up a circumstantial statement showing the 
reasons why they could not carry out the order. "First 
because this levy must have the sanction and confir- 
mation of the estates." The king replied, "You have 
seen the letters from the estates of Lusatia that there 
is an actual danger which demands speedy assistance. 
The time is also so short that we could hardly call a 
diet or we would do it. You are all bound by the 
land law to aid the crown when it is assailed. We 



2^ HE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 511 

remind you also of the oath by which you are bound 
to obey our command and with us or our son to take 
the field. We also hope that you will show your 
selves to be true vassals to us and the public by earnest 
proofs of obedience. Reflect within yourselves that 
we have taken our position within our own states. 
You will not escape from us. You are also chief over 
the other cities, and you are the citizen order, and will 
be an example to others. ' The king also declared 
that they must take the consequences of the course 
they adopted. The Bohemians at this serious conjunc- 
ture lost a constant friend by the death of the queen 
who had always been their advocate with her husband. 
This princess was daughter of Ki;ig Vladislav and 
sister of Ludwig, and by personal intervention shielded 
many of her countrymen from the fury of her husband. 
Ferdinand published an announcement of the death of 
his queen and at the same time renewed his recent 
orders. The people of Bohemia regarded these pro- 
ceedings only as deliberate assaults on their privileges 
and their liberties. They commissioned some of the 
magistrates of Prague to present a remonstrance 
wherein they set forth their objections to the king's 
unusual orders. I, Because they were required to 
obey at the peril of their lives and under all circum- 
stances; and by so doing it might happen that friends, 
brothers and fathers would be brought into mortal 
strife with them. II. As soon as they passed the 
borders they must abandon their wives and children 
to the probable fury of the Turks. III. They rejected 
the recent treaty with the duke Maurice of Saxony, 
and could only recognize the old treaty with the Sax- 
on house. IV. They dreaded the heavy anger of God 
if they fought against the supporters of the elector 



5 1 2 HIS TOR Y OF B OH E MIA 

who received the holy supper under both kinds as the 
Bohemians did, and were their fellow believers and 
dear brothers. The king replied blandly that the 
elector John Frederic, did not wage war on account of 
religion, but solely for rebellion against the emperor; 
that only a few months previously by means of emis- 
saries he had intrigued with the Turks to break the 
truce, to overrun Hungary and at the same time assail 
Bohemia from another quarter. A few days subse- 
quently he summoned the burgomaster and council of 
the city of Prague before him, and entrusted his daugh- 
ter, the archduchess, to their protection during the 
campaign; and these matters disposed of, he rode off 
to the army at Leitmeritz with the archduke Ferdi- 
nand. Soon after his arrival the king made the same 
requisition for troops on this place, and demanded the 
number of men they could supply to complete their 
complement. The council replied as those of Prague 
had done; and requested the king to assemble the 
diet. They expressed their willingness to com- 
ply with his requests when the proceedings corres- 
ponded with the ancient usages and constitution, and 
were not contrary to the fundamental law of the land. 
The decree of the i2th of January was not only in 
violation of the statutes and customs but subversive 
of the liberties and rights of the kingdom. The king 
at once summoned the remonstrants before him at the 
city hall, and declared that the time was too short to 
convene a diet and engage in lengthy debates and 
prolix discussions; he had promised assistance to duke 
Maurice. The latter was encamped only four miles 
from his enemies, and expected speedy assistance. 
He besought them not to abandon them this time, and 
compel him to violate his kingly honor, and if he must 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 513 

do that he could not show his face again. He prom- 
ised them to abolish, recall and abrogate the decree of 
the 12th of January, He pledged himself that he 
would confirm to them a solemn assurance that for 
the future no disadvantage should arise, or assault 
against their liberties; and he would answer for it 
that they should not undertake this campaign as a duty 
but as voluntary service to their king. Finally he 
presented to the assembled estates of Leitmeritz the 
following ultimatum. Every lord, knight and city 
must be individually free, either to march into the 
field with the king or not to march; if they do so 
the}^ must do it voluntaril}' and without compulsion, 
not in order to aid Duke Maurice, not because the 
king by the decree of January 12th had ordered it, not 
to maintain the alliance with Duke Maurice, but sim- 
ply to undertake this campaign and face danger for 
the king personally. 

Hereupon they consented to take the field; but the 
expedition would probably require a contribution of 
twelve in the thousand. This promise was not abso- 
lutely made. They agreed, however, to induce gen- 
eral consent of the kingdom to this agreement. The 
king thanked them and forthwith proceeded to Dres- 
den. 

During the course of these last events a strong and 
resolute combination had been formed of all parties 
at Prague. The commons of the old and new city as- 
sembled in the Carolinumand solemnly pledged them- 
selves to maintain with property and life, — "Gut und 
Blut" — their rights, liberties, privileges and ancient 
customs and statutes, namely those that had been con- 
firmed by emperors and kings, and recently by King 
Ferdinand. At the same moment another assembly 



5 1 4 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

of deputies from another district, consisting of lords 
and knights had also assembled in the house of Bohus 
Kostka of Postupicz, and after some earnest debate 
these persons proceeded with devout songs and pray- 
ers to the Carolinum. The articles of union already 
proposed were read to them; and when they perceived 
that the king was not attacked they agreed to join the 
confederation. After a formal union had been agreed 
on an address to the king was prepared. They earn- 
estly requested him to assemble the diet at Prague 
and to decide on the serious matter of a campaign 
with the consent of the estates. They also pledged 
themselves, if the king should refuse, to assemble of 
themselves and consider the subject. 

The da}' following they again assembled, again 
pledged themselves to each other, and especially en- 
gaged each to the other, to defend themselves with 
property and life and resist the decree of the 12th of 
January.* They then marched in formal procession 
with bare heads, and singing devoutly, to the Tyn- 
kirche, listened to a sermon from John Mystopul, then 
the chief minister of the utraquists, who exhorted them 
in the present emergency and confirnied their courage. 
They were all men of the cup, and for this reason es- 
pecially adverse to make war on the elector of Sax- 
ony or his followers. At this time a report spread 
that Ferdinand proposed at the end of the campaign 
to overwhelm Prague with an immense army, and not 
leave one stone of the city on another, so that men 

* Let the reader compare these proceedings with others that trans- 
pired on and about a certain 4th of July and say whether the one was 
not the lineal forerunner of the other. Bohemia appealed to her 
ancient common law and her inherited rights as America also did. 
Neither asserted any new principle. Bohemia v^as and is the most con- 
sistent assertor of constitutional civil liberty that the world has ever 
seen. But her story has been hidden for bad purposes. 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 515 

should hardl}' point out the site of the city. Great 
was the alarm. The estates assembled and besought 
the king to contradict the report. They did not be. 
lieve that they had disobeyed his order's; but the ru- 
mor provoked disorder. The king who was at that 
moment at Aussig referred them to his statements at 
Leitmeritz, reminded them of all that had transpired 
there, and that it was important that his instructions 
should be obeyed. Eight days after Easter, he said, 
he would hold a diet at Prague, and expected all 
the property holders to appear there. In the mean- 
time he besought them to meet and do something. In 
another letter he assured them that all these reports 
were groundless, and that they should not be troubled 
by them. He reminded them that thej^ continually 
permitted all kinds of satirical writings and songs 
against the emperor and himself to be openly printed 
and sold. At the same time he summoned a diet 
for Monday called Quasimodo. The estates were paci- 
fied by the promise of a diet and had assembled to 
correct the misunderstanding when another dispatch 
was received from John Frederic in which he renewed 
the old alliance between Bohemia and Saxony, ap- 
pealed to them as fellow believers with himself and 
his adherents, declared that they constituted his chief 
hope; he sought their friendship and asked them to 
remain at peace with him and his dominions. Before 
an answer was received to this dispatch the elector 
attacked and defeated Albert of Brandenburg who had 
advanced to the aid of Maurice. Ferdinand, who was 
then at Ohren, felt disconcerted at these tidings and 
became apprehensive that the victory would slip from 
him, and that the elector would invade Bohemia. He 
therefore ordered the Bohemian estates to place them- 



5i6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

selves under arms at once, and march under Weit- 
muhle's orders. This officer with what troops he could 
muster advanced to Schlagenwerth expecting an attack 
in that directicm. He also wrote to the king and the 
estates to forward supplies to Eger where he expected 
the emperor and Maurice to join him, and promised 
that all should be paid for. This notice was published 
through the kingdom The estates paid little heed to 
these orders. On the contrary, they assembled as 
usual in the Carolinum. The king's letter and Weit- 
muhle's were read, and also the edict of January 12. 
But as the king had summoned a diet for a week 
after Easter they selected a hundred persons from the 
three estates to draw up articles to be submitted on 
that occasion. During these debates a dispatch ar- 
rived from the elector stating his success at Rochliss. 
He assured them of his constant friendship, and his 
resolve to punish all invaders of his dominions like- 
wise. He asked their aid against the same enemies 
who would injure or entirely destroy their ancient lib- 
erties. Finally he reiterated his devotion to the an- 
cient alliance. They replied that the}' desired a re- 
newal of the alliance; and as they were informed that 
his people meditated an irruption into Bohemia, they 
besought him to prevent it as it might injure the long 
established union between them. They also besought 
a prompt explanation of all seeming injuries on both 
sides. To'Weitmuhle they wrote that they had no 
reason to make war on the elector's supporters; that 
his commission from the estates had long expired; and 
that he should keep quiet and relinquish all thoughts 
of war. Immediately afterward they were formally 
notified by the elector's officers that Joachimsthal was 
formally surrendered to their jurisdiction. 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 517 

On a full review of the situation the estates be- 
came convinced that the defenses of the country must 
be strengthened. They therefore disregarded all 
preparations but for their immediate safety. They 
printed and distributed a peremptory order for a 
general levy of troops to be commanded by their own 
officers, and appealed to the patriotism of the people 
to defend their native land, their wives, children, and 
property against a hostile invasion which they had 
good reason to expect. Precise orders were issued 
for the enrollment and organization of the army, and 
the terms of service, with the contingent required for 
each man's property. Four nobles, four knights and 
the magistrates of Prague were constituted a com- 
mission to perfect these arrangements. Commanding 
officers were named, and the proportions of horse and 
foot, and the distribution of arms and pay were defi- 
nitely determined. March 23, 1547. 

In the meantime Maurice and Augustus of Saxony 
with seven thousand men had advanced to Brux. This 
fortress so coveted and relied on by Otakar, as "the 
eye of Bohemia," had long formed the advanced frontier 
post on that side, The news that Maurice had seized 
this place created alarm at Prague. They full)'' under- 
stood the hostility of the proceeding and they at once 
put the troops in motion, with a view to instant concen- 
tration. They also wrote to the king expressing their 
surprise at this invasion by hostile forces of which he 
had not notified them; besought him to order Maurice 
to retire, and discontinue his violent assault on them. 
During these and the subsequent negotiations Ferdi- 
nand exhibited a depth and ferocity of craft, duplicity 
and treachery which none of his previous proceedings 
had even approached. Hitherto he had sworn tg 



5 1 8 HI ST OR Y OF B O HEM I A 

the legal requirements of the established laws and con- 
stitution as his predecessors had done. Symptoms of 
strong impatience had indeed shown themselves; but 
his course was direct and explicit. But at this period 
he was evidentl}^ inspired by deeper, darker, more sub- 
tle, and more unscrupulous spirits than himself. The 
imperial camp had been recently rendered the focus of 
deceit, craft, hypocrisy and dissimulation hiding the 
most ferocious designs. The report that had already 
reached Prague of an intention to overwhelm the city 
had its foundation in proposals and threats made in 
Ferdinand's camp from the moment the Spaniards 
arrived. These men brought with them the represen- 
tatives of a deeper, more torturous and more vindic- 
tive policy than had hitherto been practised in Ger- 
many. 

The estates posted troops in Prague, issued orders 
to the other strong places and prepared for resistance. 
They even notified Ferdinand's daughter still in the 
citadel not to be alarmed at the presence of armed 
men. Ferdinand replied that he had marched into 
Bohemia in-order to meet his allies. His intention 
was to defeat the duke of Saxony who had seized Joa- 
chimstahl and Presnitz, and had endeavored also to 
alienate the inhabitants from their oaths of fidelity. 
Duke Augustus also replied that he came as a friend 
and not as an enemy, and proposed to lend them as- 
sistance. The estates were duped into false confi- 
dence by this duplicity. They believed that their re- 
ligion and liberties had received the support of these 
professors of their own faith. This was the second 
base use made of Maurice and his adherents. The es- 
tates were the more confirmed in their delusions by a 
dispatch from Caspar Pfiiig, to the effect that the em- 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 519 

peror with twenty thousand men chietly Spaniards had 
advanced to Eger, and would speedily reach Prague; 
and he requested reinforcements of men, precise or- 
ders, and money. Prague was in arms forthwith and 
the districts were required to forward their contingents 
by the day after Palm Sunday to defend the country 
against its enemies. Clearly Caspar Pflug was a use- 
less person. In fact Bohemia at that moment pos- 
sessed no leader, and her constitutional methods ob- 
structed her efforts. The estates isssued a procla'.ra- 
tion wherein they declared : — "We, the established 
authorities of the kingdom of Bohemia, and we, the 
burgomaster, council and commons of all three estates 
of Prague, do issue these presents for the information 
and instruction of all who have at heart the honor of 
God and of the kingdom of Bohemia and the true lib- 
erties of the same. We are fully convinced through 
the letters of credible persons, and through verbal re- 
ports, that a great peril confronts this kingdom, and 
danger to our wives, children and property as well as 
the greatest disasters to the proprietors, inhabitants, 
and possessions of this countr}^ Let every man who 
has the privilege to render knight's service, according 
to his strict obligation, to himself, to the kingdom of 
Bohemia, our lives and our fatherland at once vigor- 
ously resist the violence of the enemy, and defend the 
realm against those who have unjustly attacked the 
kingdom and its inhabitants with violence not only to 
destroy our lives but to rob us of our enjoyments and 
our property. Let every man of our adherents pre- 
sent himself at the public hall of his city at the nine- 
teenth hour of this current day, and be enrolled by 
name, in order that every man so enrolled shall have 
his pay fixed and receive his present allowance." Pas- 



520 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

sionate appeals of this description may be well on oc- 
casion ; but they cannot assume the place of organiza- 
tion and guidance; apples cannot grow without trees. 
The estates also wrote to Caspar Pflug that they had 
ordered levies to march to him with all speed, and 
that he should take the. field on the following Palm 
Monday. But in the meantime, during the latter part 
of March and while Bohemia vexed her soul over an 
enemy not yet openly declared, King Ferdinand, Mau- 
rice and Augustus had joined the emperor with their 
troops at Eger. On his march the king heard of the 
proceedings at Prague; and at Briix he forwarded a 
dispatch to the magistrates of Prague stating that 
they incurred useless expense when they enlisted men 
for the defense of the kingdom. Joachimstahl had 
been already recovered, and there was not an enemy 
in all the country; but he marched by way of Eger 
in order to join his brother against the elector of Sax- 
ony. A dispatch to the same tenor was sent by Fer- 
dinand from Commotau to all the districts of the king- 
dom. From Luditz he wrote again to the magistrates 
declaring that their precaution in garrisoning the cas- 
tle of Prague, in summoning the country for public 
defense, and enrolling troops was wholly superfluous 
as no enemies were present, he hoped that all persons 
who supported him and the emperor would present 
themselves at Eger within three days; and there the 
emperor would give proof that his army intended to 
act not against Bohemia but against the elector. The 
king also requested and earnestly required them to lay 
aside all weapons, and quietly to await his arrival at 
Prague. In order to more fully convince the people 
of Prague he sent to them the chief burgomaster, 
Wolf Kragirz of Krageh, and the chief steward of the 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEAIIA 521 

palace, Vladislav Berka of Duba, with a dispatch to 
confirm the confidence of the people in the statements 
of these emissaries. On their arrival these persons in- 
vited the magistrates before them and assured them 
that the king entertained no purposes whatever against 
their liberties; and they should remain quiet and lay 
aside their weapons. 

The estates could not be thus adroitly pacified. The 
magistrates replied in the name of the whole body, 
that they had taken up arms for the following reasons: 
— I. Because the estates had been informed on credible 
authority that persons purposed to destroy the king- 
dom of Bohemia and root out the Bohemian language, 
and that these tidings were confirmed by repeated 
threats heard uttered as well in the royal as in the im- 
perial residence. II. Because neither the king nor the 
burg-graf were compelled to remain in the country to 
defend the crown, they had of themselves enrolled an 
army and elected a commander from among them- 
selves; and these orders had been issued first to de- 
fend the archduchess who was in their care in the for- 
tress of Prague from all mischance, and second to pro- 
tect the kingdom from the violence of hostile forces 
who had broken into the country without any notice. 
They assured them, moreover, that they entertained 
not the least thought against the king nor his lords. 
The existing excitement they could neither remove nor 
prevent;- and they besought his majesty to dissuade 
the emperor from shedding christian blood, and to 
withdraw, the sooner the better, to the capital of his 
own dominions. April 4th, 1547. 

At this juncture the estates received another dis- 
patch from the elector. They had written to him that 
the old alliance was no longer observed but that they 



522 . HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

desirea its renewal. He made them the proposition 
to send deputies to Joachimstahl where they would 
find persons authorized to renew their friendship and 
alliance. He also announced that a mob from Bohe- 
mia who adhered to the king had plundered his city 
of Zwickau, and they must punish the guilty by burn- 
ing their houses and property in Bohemia. The dep- 
uties also replied that the}' would ever act with him 
according to their treaty, and would abide the former 
friendship as became good and honorable men, and 
that when tne former alliance should be renewed, as 
now it was, they would gladly so act that similar mis 
adventures should not again arise; that in the maan- 
time they were assembling troops from all sides, to 
defend the kingdom, and defeat the present inroad 
which they could not have foreseen, while at the same 
time they would observe the treaty with Saxony They 
had requested their king to dissuade the emperor from 
the present campaign; and when peace should be re- 
newed he should not conclude a treaty independently 
of Bohemia. On the same day they also dispatched 
an imperative printed order through all the districts 
that all estates must instantly take up arms for the 
defense of the kingdom, of their liberties, and their 
native speech. 

Charles V. had, during the period of these discus- 
sions, advanced with his army to Eger in order to 
effect a junction with the king and with Maurice. 
The emperor had already written to the Bohemians to 
furnish supplies to his army on its march and they 
would receive compensation therefor. As he under- 
stood that the Bohemians imagined that he had enter- 
tained designs against their religion and had taken the 
field for this reason, therefore he declared that he won- 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 523 

dered they would believe such false reports as that he 
was at war with Bohemia; he assured them that his 
sole purpose was directed against the elector of Sax- 
ony in order to subdue his pride; their religion had 
nothing to apprehend, and during the entire war he 
had not molested any man on account of it; they 
should not permit any man to encourage their revolt, 
but should dismiss their troops to their homes, and 
remain quiet; they must furnish the necessary trans- 
portation for compensation; and non-compliance would 
be punished as criminal by his brother and himself. 
The same day the king wrote to the estates and dis- 
tricts of the kingdom as well as of Prague, stating 
that he was astonished they had placed troops in the 
field while he, their king and lord, had issued no order 
to that effect; that they should yield no further belief 
to such groundless and false reports and tales as their 
messages and dispatches indicated; he assured them 
that neither he nor his brother entertained any designs 
against the kingdom; his march was directed solely 
against the elector of Saxony; he besought them again 
and very earnestly to lay aside their weapons. The 
king added that whoever rushed into the contest 
against this advice must assume all the guilt, and 
should be punished for overt acts of disobedience. 

Hereto the commissioners of the estates replied 
that they had not undertaken any hostile proceeding 
either against the emperor or his majesty their king, 
or against the kingdom of Bohemia. These assur- 
ances they held in full belief as true, and must con- 
tinue to maintain them. Wherefore they besought 
the king at tlie same time to be assured that they 
would commit no act contrary to their obligation to 
their king and lord; that the troops were under arms 



524 HIS TOR Y OF B OHE MIA 

according to the natural right of all nations to defend 
their established rights from all violence from every 
man whosever should assail their government or un- 
justly assail them; they hoped that the disagreements 
between his majesty and the estates would be arranged 
at the coming diet; they besougnt his majesty to 
desist from the campaign against the elector of Saxony 
since a long established alliance existed between Bo- 
hemia and the Saxon house; this was one of the privi- 
leges of the crown and they should regret deeply that 
.any man should ever be able to assert that his majesty 
of his own accord had committed any act in violation of 
it. The commisioners also wrote to all the estates of 
the kingdom to maintain the alliance with Saxony in- 
violable, as this union was one of the established 
rights of the crown of Bohemia, and their defense 
likewise; and that none of the neighboring nations 
should ever reproach them with faithlessness to their 
alliances which they contracted under semblance of 
honor. 

They also replied to the emperor almost in the 
same terms as to the king, and respectfully requested 
him that as he was bound as head of Christendom to 
spare christian blood, to be reconciled with the elec- 
tor, and henceforth to wield his power and that of all 
Christendom against the Turks and other such formid- 
able enemies of their religion. 

The emperor and his allies marched with great ce- 
lerity from Eger; no halt was permitted, as they ex- 
pected the elector to overpower Rochliss. The elec- 
tor had disposed a portion of his troops toward Bohe- 
mia, and seized Ellbogen and Falkenau. This divis- 
ion acted under the command of William Thumshirn, 
and his purpose was to unite with the Bohemians and 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 525 

block the emperor's march on that side. But the 
emperor penetrated the Voigtland, separated Thum- 
shirn, who had spread his forces too widely, from the 
elector, by the seizure of Annaberg and Schneeberg, 
and continued his march unimpeded. 

Pflug at this time wrote to the estates for reinforce- 
ments; he complained that his force was reduced to 
two thousand men; that the other forces encamped 
separately from him refused to render him obedience; 
that the elector's generals required him to join them 
and march against Annaberg. He also asked for in- 
structions, and money as promptly as possible. The 
commissioners gave him the agreeable reply that the 
reinforcements were on their march- and that money 
had been forwarded to him to Joachimstahl for the 
pay of the troops and expenses. But they issued no 
orders for junction with the elector's forces. He 
therefore marched to Koenigswerth and held a confer- 
ence with Thumshirn, assuring him that he was with- 
out orders and money and could do nothing. The 
elector's troops at once crossed the mountains. 

At the date fixed the estates assembled for the ap- 
pointed diet, and in numbers corresponding to the 
importance of the occasion. The king had promised 
to be present. The articles already half accepted 
would be confirmed; and all present hoped and per- 
haps expected that those lords who had not as yet 
joined the common cause would now enroll their 
names. They assembled in the Carolinum; but the 
officials asked where was the king? Some replied that 
he would not come; but that his commissioners were 
then on the way, and would arrive the day following. 
They appeared and in such number that the greater 
part were compelled to remain in the space in front of 



526 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the Schloss. On the desire of the commissioners the 
alliance between Bohemia and Saxony concluded under 
King George was read aloud; but the renewed alliance 
with Maurice could not be found. On the following 
day some landholders complained that the king had 
punished them because in the previous year they had 
refused to cross the frontier. The commissioners ap- 
peared. They were John, bishop of Olmiitz; Wenzel 
of Ludawitz, chief recorder of Moravia, William 
Kuna of Kunestadt, George Ziapka of Limberg, Prczen- 
ko of Wiczkova, and Wenzel Tetauer of Letau. After 
they had exhibited their credentials they desired to be 
heard. The}' explained the reasons of the king's ab- 
sence, and excused his non-appearance to the estates. 
They expressed the king's surprise that they desired 
to hold a diet while they held an army in the field 
and had formed a combination among themselves; 
they desired also in the king's name that the estates 
would disband their troops, and dissolve their alli- 
ances, so that the diet might be f-ree; they declared 
also that in case of refusal they were themselves pow- 
erless to act further. The emperor himself conveyed 
an especial admonition to lay down their arms; and to 
extend true allegiance to the king their lord. The 
estates replied that neither their union nor their arma- 
ment meant ought of wrong, and were directed only 
against invaders; and as to violation of the king's or- 
ders they pointed out to the burg-graf and the other 
lords that their offense was so gross that it consisted in 
assembling and proceeding together, singing and hap- 
py, to the Tynchurch, and there singing the Ambrose 
hymn. When the commissioners discovered that the 
estates would not comply with the king's desires they 
produced a letter wherein king Ferdinand requested 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 527 

the magistrates to convey the archduchess his daugh- 
ter to Insbruck with a guard of fifty horse. This re- 
quest caused a sensation. At that moment they were 
in receipt of a request for instructions from their com- 
mander in chief: and they directed him not to cross 
the frontier and to notify the elector's officers not to 
pass into Bohemia, 

Then they resolved to send a deputation to 
the king to explain to him the various reasons 
and justifying circumstances of their previous pro- 
ceedings and undertakings. For this embassy two 
distinguished members of each order were selected. 
This embassy was instructed to make the following 
explanation. The Bohemian estates had from ancient 
times formed alliances for friendship and union among 
each other, whereof the documents and records had 
unfortunately been burned in the late fire. While it 
was well understood by the public that the present 
union of the states was not intended to injure or op- 
pose the king so much as, once more, to resist inva- 
sion, so they had by divine guidance again renewed 
the old alliance, and deposited the document for rec- 
ord. As concerned the enrollment of troops, their 
ancestors had always broken the bones of all who had 
with hostile arms crossed the borders of Bohemia, and 
crushed all disorders which could be discovered con- 
trary to the orders of their commanders; this ancient 
custom would now be followed by the estates who 
had not, however, the least design to injure th*e king 
or his lords. When the estates adjourned the diet 
to Friday after Ascension day, the ambassadors 
were required to bring back the king's decision at 
that time, and at the same time to request him to es- 
tablish peace between the emperor and the elector, and 



528 . HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

to dispatch his army against the Turks, these formid- 
able enemies of Christendom, Similar representations 
they were ordered to make to the emperor in person. 
During these events in Prague the disunion of the 
protestant princes in Germany ruined the cause which 
the Bohemians zealously sacrificed themselves to pro- 
mote. Charles V. in person commanded his troops, 
an event not common even in those victories attributed 
to the emperor. He was not present at Pavia where 
Francis I. surrendered his sword to Lannoy. He was 
not at Rome when the pope became his prisoner. He 
did not acquire renown against Solyman by any achieve- 
ment of his own. Although at this period, and during 
several years previous he was sorely troubled and par- 
tially disabled by his old enemy the gout, yet the 
latent fire of his soul burned fiercely against the prot- 
estants whom he hated far more than he hated the 
Turks or the Algerians. During the present campaign 
Charles exhibited extraordinary energy; he was con- 
stantly in the saddle although one foot was supported 
by a cloth bandage instead of a stirrup. He rode 
round continually examining the discipline of his army, 
or exploring the country. Even during the utmost 
severity of the winter, when sentinels were frozen to 
death at their posts and frost-bitten noses and eyes 
and hands were common in both armies, the emperor 
was still active. Charles knew how to appeal also to 
the sentimental side of his soldiery; and the Spaniards 
were often edified on seeing through the tent door 
purposely left open the kneeling emperor at his devo- 
tions. He exhibited equal adroitness in secret intri- 
gue. The protestant army at Ulm assembled 70,000 to 
80,000 foot, 10,000 horse and 130 guns; but several of 
the most powerful princes had been overreached by the 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 529 

emperor's diplomacy. Oar friend Maurice of Saxony 
was, during the present momentous crisis, detached from 
tlie league, and even induced to betray his family and 
his faith by delusive promises of which both Charles 
and Ferdinand possessed abundant store. The weak 
union of the princes prevented action at the most favor- 
able crisis. Had they attacked the emperor before his 
Spaniards arrived the result must have been different. 
The imperial army consisted of 35,000 foot and be- 
tween 3,000 and 4,000 horse. But they were concen- 
trated. Not only the defection of Maurice, but his 
assault on the elector's dominions compelled John 
Frederic to withdraw from his allies in order to de- 
fend his territories. This separation proved fatal. 
John Frederic stood alone against Spain and the em- 
pire. At that moment also his troops were much scat- 
tered; some in Bohemia, and some in Saxony, and he 
was far from being prepared for a conflict. In April 
1547 John was at Meissen with about 6,000 foot and 
2,000 or 3,000 horse. Hearing that the enemy ap- 
proached he broke the bridge, and slowly retired along 
the right bank of the Elbe toward Wittenberg. Here 
and at Gotha and other strongholds he possessed 
means for protracted resistance.. Charles strove to in- 
tercept his march and followed the course of the stream 
purposing to cross at Miihlberg. On the evening of 
April 23rd he was informed that the elector was in that 
town. He therefore halted on the opposite bank. At 
this point the Elbe is about 300 paces wide; and the 
bank held by the Saxons was much higher than the 
other where the ground was low, flat, and open, there 
being no cover except a small wood at some distance 
from the water. The Saxons had drawn the boat- 
bridge to their own side ; and even ordinary diligence 



530 HISTORY OF BOHEAIIA 

and skill could have defied Charles even if much 
stronger than he was. On the morning of Sunday, 
April 24th, the low ground was covered with a thick 
fog. The imperial engineers early prepared pontoons 
and posted guns in the wood. These opened fire as 
soon as objects could be seen. The Saxons replied. 
John Frederic persuaded himself that only Maurice 
with a small body of men was his assailant. The 
Saxons manned their boats and moved them into the 
stream to prevent the enemy from crossing. The 
Spaniards waded in and their greatly superior num- 
bers drove back the boats. The engineers, however, 
being still short of pontoons some Spaniards swam 
across with swords in their teeth, captured some boats 
and safely conveyed them across. A miller whose 
horses had been seized by the elector's people guided 
the imperialists to a ford, and the light cavalry, each 
carrying an infantry man behind him., safely passed be- 
fore the Saxons understood their danger. On their 
side generalship was totally wanting. The emperor 
and the king of the Romans — Ferdinand — our Ferdi- 
nand — advanced to the river with their squadrons. 
Charles rode a dun Spanish horse and was enveloped 
in white armor, gilt, and crossed with a broad band of 
crimson taffeta. He wore a Dutch morion and carried 
a demi-lance in his hand. The troops of all arms 
crossed the river on the newly completed bridge, and 
Miihlberg was evacuated by the Saxons, who were 
immediately pursued. The duke of Alba, known after- 
ward in the Netherlands, clad in white armor with 
long plumes floating down his back, commanded the 
manoeuvres. The elector, whose apathy on that fatal 
day is inexplicable, had sent forward his main body in 
the early morning toward Torgau, and then went to 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 531 

church to hear a sermon. His devotions finished he 
proceeded slowly in his carriage while his relentless 
enemies thundered in his immediate rear. Maurice 
hearing of the elector's movements sent a trumpet to 
summon him to surrender but John Frederic persisted 
in believing that only a few troops approached him. 
About four in the afternoon Alba overtook the Saxons; 
and the elector drew up the small body of troops he 
had on the edge of the wood of Lochau. After the 
first volley, and being enveloped by ten times their 
number they broke and fled and the field became at 
once an utter rout. The elector clad in black armor, 
striped with white, attempted to rally the fugitives ; 
but he was promptly surrounded by hussars, wounded 
in the face, and forced to surrender his sword. The 
emperor and king of the Romans entered the wood 
where all was confusion, victors and vanquished inter- 
mingled. Here the duke of Alba reported the duke 
of Saxony a prisoner. The emperor commanded to 
bring him, and he was brought. The duke of Alba 
came on his right side and presented him. The elec- 
tor alighted with difficulty, took off one glove and at- 
tempted to touch the emperor's hand, but Charles re- 
jected the proffered courtesy. "Most mighty and most 
gracious emperor, I am your prisoner," spoke the 
elector. Charles replied, "Now you call me emperor; 
this is another name than you have given me in times 
past." From that moment the league of Smalkald was 
hopelessly broken. The emperor's motto "Quod in 
caelis sol in terra Caesar est," became an established fact. 
Germany was 'broken up and crushed. The chiefs 
were captives led in triumph. The emperor was more 
than emperor. He was controlled by no law and im- 
peded by no resistance. His temper, hitherto compelled 



532 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

to dissemble and tolerate protestantism even in his 
camp, now exhibited all the cruelty and harshness 
which the Jesuits had instilled into a mind of itself 
sufficiently arrogant and pitiless. Charles used his 
power with the utmost severity and vindictiveness. 
He was remorseless and unforgiving to his oppo- 
nents, crafty and faithless to his friends. Where 
Germany fell before one brother Bohemia was dashed 
to the earth still more violently before the other. The 
disaster at Miihlberg at once released Ferdinand, ac- 
cording to his ideas of the binding nature of oaths 
and promises in certain cases, from all restraints of 
power, all control of law, all oaths to subjects, and all 
fidelity to the most solemn obligations. His pent up 
fury became at once directed with concentrated venom 
against Bohemia now in her agony at his feet. 

The announcement of this momentous intelligence 
was conveyed to the estates at Prague by Zbinko 
Berka of Duba, grand prior of the order of Malta, 
during the debates and before the embassy had yet 
started. King Ferdinand himself conveyed the tidings 
of this decisive victory to bishop John of Olmiitz and 
the commissioners. The dispatch was openly read to 
the assembled estates, and the unexepcted announce- 
ment produced a profound sensation. Some members 
were incredulous and declared the statement to be 
mere artifice; others at once quitted Prague and re- 
tired to their domains. Some who had involuntarily 
joined the league openly rejoiced. The canons of the 
cathedral set all the bells ringing, and sounded their 
gladness loudly all the day. The peal of those bells 
tolled the death knell of Bohemia. 

The changed condition of affairs a once altered the 
policy of the estates, if policy they could be said to 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 533 

have. As the embassy had not yet begun their 
journey some additions were made to their instruc- 
tions. They congratulated both their majesties on their 
almost bloodless victory, saying also that as the war 
was now at an end, and they submitted wholly to the 
king's promises that he would introduce no troops into 
Bohemia, so they v.'ould now disband their own forces, 
and would forward at once the necessary supplies to 
the imperial camp. Furthermore they entreated king 
Ferdinand to prevail on the emperor, to march his en- 
tire army against the Turks in Hungary, and that they 
would not fail to assist in this undertaking. On the 
day following they sent orders to Pflug to disband his 
troops and dismiss them to their homes. Finally they 
dispatched the embassy to the imperial camp before 
Wittenberg. The^^ arrived during the early days of 
May; and presented themselves to the king. He re- 
ceived them in front of his tent, and shook each by 
the hand; then heard mass; and retired to a small 
hamlet close by where like the emperor he resided in 
a farm-house. The ambassadors followed. The king 
seated himeslf under a tree, and his sons, Maximilian 
and Ferdinand, with the ambassadors stood beside him, 
with some Bohemian lords. He listened to the burgo- 
master's statement which George Ziabka translated 
into Latin. The commissioners handed the king their 
written despatches and he replied that he would have 
them translated into German and answered. Hereupon 
Ihey requested the king to procure for them an inter- 
view with the emperor. He forthwith stood up and 
led the way to' the cottage. Charles advanced to the 
threshold to meet them, and shook each by the hand. 
The day following he gave them an audience and prom- 
ised an answer; when the}^ presented themselves the 



534 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

following Saturday at his request he said that he 
would forward his answer by his own messenger ; at 
the same time he admonished them earnestly to relin- 
quish their resistance, to dissolve their union, other- 
wise they could not expect him to prevail with his 
brother, king Ferdinand. The king gave them the 
same reply; and the day following they set out with 
light hearts for Prague. Was all this smooth courtesy 
mere dissimulation and hypocrisy? At that moment 
Spain stood at the summit of her power; and the em- 
peror and Ferdinand represented in themselves and 
in their education the supreme effect of the guile, craft, 
subtlety, and dissembled cruelty which constituted the 
highest aim of Spanish religion and political doctrines. 
The concentration of all, supported by the might of 
both the eastern and western worlds, -yvas then directed 
against Bohemia. 

The day after their arrival the estates convoked the 
diet of their own volition. The ambassadors ex- 
plained their cordial reception by the emperor and the 
king; both their majesties desired and counseled 
the estates most kindly to dissolve their union, and 
the king had taken it ill that they had convoked the 
landtag of their own accord without his will and con- 
sent. The imperial messengers afterward entered the 
assembly and reported the emperor's instructions to 
the ambassadors in his camp. Then appeared the 
king's deputies, Berthold von Lippa the chief marshal, 
and George Ziabka of Limburg the vice chancelor of 
Bohemia. Their dispatch was openly read to the es- 
tates, and herein the king reproved them for having 
arbitrarily summoned the diet already fixed by 
him; declared that their alliance now established 
was wholly void, and was formed to do him the great- 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 535 

est injury, without his will and consent and without 
the presence of his commissioners; that it was aimed 
against his royal sovereignty and supremacy; that 
they had held assemblies in the Carolinum and had 
passed resolutions of all kinds of themselves contrary 
to the express royal prohibition; he warned them to 
dissolve their union under the penalty of banishment; 
that they had levied a tax, elected a general, and 
other commanders, and of all these acts had not an- 
nounced one to their king and lord; that they had 
conducted themselves throughout as if no king existed, 
and the kingdom was without lords, that they had 
raised levies through the country — a right appertain- 
ing only to the king; that they had attempted by inter- 
ception to prevent the junction of his troops and 
those of his allies with the imperial army; that their 
general Pflug had assisted and not impeded the elect- 
or's orderl3^ Thumshirn on his march by Commotau, 
Ellbogen, and Falkenau; that the citizens of Saatz, 
by the orders of the estates, refused him their king 
and lord admittance into their city; that their general 
Pflug had held frequent conferences with the elector's 
general Thumshirn, most probably against the king's 
interest; that they had forbidden all transportation 
to the imperial as well as to the royal army through 
Bohemia, but supplied his enemies with abundance 
in Bohemia itself; that they had forbidden payment 
of the royal revenues, beer tax, and excise; that they 
had arbitrarily shut up in prison the royal council- 
and private-secretary Florian of Griesbek without 
a hearing; that they dismissed the royal administrator 
from the country ; that through these proceedings they 
had assailed the royal sovereignty, and had held its 
majesty for naught. 



536 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The king likewise ordered the estates most peremp- 
torily in this rescript to dissolve their union at once 
and without contradiction, and to deliver the records 
of the union to his commissioners; but should they — 
contrary to all his suppositions, refuse, he should be 
compelled to think of means to protect his royal sov- 
ereignty, and to defend his authorit}' and the crown 
of Bohemia. Thereupon he promised them his favor 
when they had dissolved their alliance and yielded 
true obedience to him as their national king and lord. 

The estates agitated by these bitter reproaches and 
imperious menaces of the king fell on their knees and 
implored God for assistance. This act was perfectly 
in accord with the habitual religious customs of the 
estates on all important occasions. 

Be it remembered that Ferdinand was only elected 
king of Bohemia, although he claimed the crown in 
right of his queen. He had been chosen king and 
accepted solely on conditions. These conditions were 
mutual. The estates had acted in conformity not only 
with the law and constitution of their country, but 
with the legally established forms of government based 
on that law. They exercised their proper and inherited 
authority. Ferdinand had solemnly sworn to observe 
each and all of the laws, rights, customs and parlia- 
mentary formalities of the country. He had insidiously 
assailed them all, had openly violated his oath, and as- 
serted a royal authority in himself totally repugnant 
to the constitution and laws he had sworn to obey and 
uphold. He represented the arbitrary system of gov- 
ernment. The estates of Bohemia had for nine hundred 
years represented and embodied the popular form of 
government ; and it was because the habits and disposi- 
tion of kings were well known to be antagonistic to the 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 537 

control by the people of their own affairs that all Bo- 
hemian kings, even those of the direct and- ancient 
line, had been compelled to pledge themselves, in the 
most solemn and binding manner before coronation, to 
maintain and defend the free institutions of the coun- 
try. Ferdinand's coronation was as much subject to 
these restraints as that of any other king; but the 
Spanish school of princes, who in that age taught the 
world what the necessary effects of their system must 
be on the intelligence, industries and prosperity of na- 
tions, and who have bequeathed to men for all time 
an inheritance of warning against any approach to a 
renewal of that system, had been brought up in the 
new school of religio-political absolutism which 
found its chief adversaries in the struggling nations 
who strove hard for freedom of mind and political 
enfranchisement during the sixteenth century. These 
two blessings are necessarily associated. The Bohe- 
mians had enjoyed and successfully maintained for 
more than a century and a quarter, as a nation, those 
two great advantages in combination ; and had de- 
fended and upheld one of them for many centuries as 
their acknowledged national system. Even during the 
ages when all other nations in Europe, except the 
English, had fallen under a despotism, and their liber- 
ties had almost disappeared, Bohemia still preserved 
intact, and after tremendous struggles, the ancient 
freedom of her ancestors. The Spanish school of the 
sixteenth century had concentrated all the force and 
virulence of dogmatic asperity, arbitrary imperious- 
ness, and monarchial concentration in church and state 
against the rising spirit of popular self assertion. Bo- 
hemia, the most ancient and prominent representative 
of this national aspiration, and inherited free system, 



538- HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

became at once the object of the most intense ani- 
mosity and cruel vindictiveness on the part of the 
princes who in 1547 united in themselves and their 
ambition all the worst features of the Spanish school 
in their most aggravated form. Hence an intensity 
of fury, duplicity, and violence was hurled against Bo- 
liemia, and produced an amount and degree of woe and 
agony such as no other country in all the world's his- 
troy has ever paralleled. This atrocious cruelty did 
not cease until the momentous era which marked the 
middle of the nineteenth century; and hardly termi- 
nated even then. 

After the reading of Ferdinand's letter the debates 
were quiet and dignified; and a brief and conciliatory 
reply was forwarded. But the estates were allowed 
very short time for deliberation. The king broke up 
his camp before Wittenberg, and entered Bohemia 
with an overwhelming force. All the available power 
of the empire had been combined. The deputies waited 
on the king at Pirna, and delivered their message. 
They informed him they bore another for the emperor; 
but he curtly stated that he would speedily return 
them an answer in person in Bohemia. Next day he 
reached Leitmeritz by a forced march; His cannon 
were planted in the market place; and his troops en- 
camped between the Elbe and the monastery of Do- 
ran. He had at last begun to signify his purposes 
openly. But he did not even yet abandon his duplic- 
ity. Guile was still necessary. Here the king dis- 
patched a proclamation to all the districts, renewing 
his reproaches, denouncing tlieir alliance and demand- 
ing its abolition. He ordered them to report their 
intentions on that point at once, and desired them to 
relinquish their imprudent and precipitate proceed- 



THE nECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 539 

ings. The well-disposed must meet him at Leitmeritz. 
To these he promised a remission of punishment, and 
reserved his severity only for those who had usurped 
his sovereignty, and had committed acts of hostility. 
The greater number of the lords and knights at once 
repaired to Leitmeritz. The people of Prague pre- 
pared for defense. They proposed to garrison the cita- 
del, and to entrench themselves on the White mount 
ain; but Ulrich von Prostieborg, deputy recorder 01 
the kingdom, dissuaded them from all such attempts. 
They followed the example of the other estates, and 
sent deputies to Leitmeritz, These envoys could ob- 
tain no audience with the king, But the public offi- 
cials and nobles drew up an apology^ stating, I. That 
they had formed the union of the estates with no 
other object than the best interest of the kingdom, 
and the defense of their liberties and of the crown. 
II. That they had no knowledge of any of the of- 
fenses whereof the king had accused them. III. That 
at the next dist they would withdraw their engage- 
ments and tear the seals off. IV. That they sup- 
ported their king, and would never abandon him, 
whenever an}' person should assail his authority. 
Ferdinand thanked them, and had all their names en- 
rolled. 

The king's troops rapidly advanced. Duke Augustus 
of Saxony encamped with seven thousand cavalry at 
Lowositz, The imperial general Marignau followed 
with seven regiments of German foot. The Silesians, 
Moravians, and Lusatians, and the bishops of Breslau 
and Olmiitz with troops advanced also to Leitmeritz, 
Next twelve large battering guns crossed the Elbe, 
and the stone cutters of Leitmeritz toiled day and 
night in the manufacture of stone balls. The king 



540 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

replied to the envoys from Prague His majesty would 
enter his palace at Prague the following Saturday; 
and in the meantime he ordered the magistrates to 
provide the requisite supplies for his army. Before 
the answer reached Prague a large force of German 
infantry seized the citadel by night, and filled the 
citizens with wonder and alarm. In the early morn- 
king the burgomaster informed them that the king in 
person would arrive next day. They did not welcome 
him as had been customary. He enquired the reason 
of the change. They ordered him to omit closing the 
gates, and remain with them. The following day the 
king himself marched with a very numerous staff, among 
whom were Duke Augustus of Saxony, Wenzel of Tes- 
chen, and three bishops into the citadel. With him 
came a very large force. The cavalry encamped in 
the suburbs ; the German infantry seized various di- 
visions of the city; one division secured the bridge 
and set heavy guns against the old town. Some 
troops fired on citizens from across the Moldau and 
wounded several. Hereupon an uproar arose. Weap- 
ons were seized b}' the crowd, the foot soldiers on 
the bridge were attacked; but there existed no leader 
to direct operations. The citizens generally kept 
aloof. A deputation waited on the king requesting 
him to restrain his troops from violence. When they 
attempted to touch his hand he repulsed them. They 
explained, however, what had occurred. He replied, 
"I will not begin; and my people will not begin; but 
if you begin you shall see that the affair will lead to 
a disagreeable termination," They explained that the 
king's people had caused the trouble. The king said, 
"Hold your people in check, and I and my people will 
do no injury, I will issue orders that my men shall 
be quiet." 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 541 

Early on Sunday the king sent two chamberlains to 
the magistrates of all three estates with a summons that 
the chief persons, the burgomaster, council, officers, 
aldermen and a hundred of the foremost citizens of 
the old city, and an equal number from the new city, 
and forty from the Kleinsite, should attend at the cit- 
adel on the following Wednesday, and await an inter- 
pellation; but the time was afterward extended to Fri- 
day. At the same time the king had seven guns post- 
ed against the old town, and thereby created great 
alarm. Among the populace an uproar arose. The 
troops had broken into a mill and commenced to plun- 
der; the miller and his men resisted ; but he was com 
pelled to escape to the new town in his boat. Shots 
were fired at him on the river. Then the populace 
became excited and the parish bells were set ringing. 
Weapons were seized and a sharp conflict took place. 
The suburban population heard the uproar, and under- 
stood it as a cry for aid; they armed themselves with 
flails and spiked clubs. As the concourse increased 
the king ordered the hussars to drive back the men 
from the country. The hussars acted as if they would 
approach the gate, but some cannon were posted on 
the wall, and fired to drive them off. The people of the 
old town now commenced a general assault. The 
hussars were cut down and seventy of them^ killed. 
Their ensign bearer was killed in the gateway. Guns 
were trained against the citadel but the people de- 
sisted. 

During these events a messenger was dispatched to 
the king to request him to restrain his men from vio 
lence. The magistrates said they were not then in a 
position to restrain the people and prevent bloodshed. 
The king listened; and then hurled at them the most 



542 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

bitter reproaches for having assaulted his soldiers and 
killed some of them; he pointed to the shot that had 
been thrown at the castle; then he complained of the 
assault made against the castle and still worse against 
himself their king and lord; and said with much as- 
perity: "If we pleased we could attack the city with 
stone and iron and red hot shot, and utterly destroy 
it; but as a christian prince we are willing to spare 
it this time and moderate our wrath. We will order 
our officers to keep quiet. You also must compel 
your people to lay aside weapons and retire to their 
homes; and remove the cannon from the bank. But 
you must not fail to appear here on Friday next ac- 
cording to our summons." 

Before the messengers had returned a large meeting 
collected in the town and compelled the burgomaster 
of the old city, Klatowsky of Dalmanhorfft, to issue a 
proclamation to all the estates and districts of the king- 
dom, urging them to hasten to the deliverance of 
Prague as the king had seized the castle, the Augezd, 
the Hradschin, the Kleinsite, the Sommerberg, with 
his troops, had pointed heavy cannon against the city 
and threatened to annihilate them all. But the chan- 
celor Sixtus von Otterdorf assured them of the friend- 
liness and good intentions of the king, and induced 
them to retain the mounted messengers with the proc- 
lamation. The tidings soon arrived that the king's 
hussars had burned the town of Babny near Prague; 
and the commotion arose again. Men loudly declared 
that it was now high time to resist and defend their 
fatherland since the enemy had assailed it with fire 
and sword. The people had raised a loud outcry and 
marched in arms toward the castle when the king 
himself advanced to meet them, and assured them 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 543 

that he had sent the mayors and other distinguished 
men with the notice to warn all persons that the town 
had been burned against his will and consent, and 
that his majesty would not only make good the loss 
but would punish with death those who had burned 
the place. He further promised to forgive their re- 
cent extravagances and be their kind and gracious lord 
if they would return to their homes, and be at peace. 

Still the same ruthless craft and duplicity. Probab- 
ly the world had never seen in human conduct so des- 
perate an example of deceitfulness and treachery. At 
that moment Ferdinand not only purposed but planned 
the most bloodthirsty vengeance and cruelty against 
those people ; and his perfidious promises were based 
only on falsehood and fraud. The people, recently 
so clamorous, readily permitted themselves to be pa- 
cified and retired. 

On Thursday those who were to present themselves 
to the king held a meeting in the council chamber 
of each city. After long debate they resolved to hold 
no disputation with the king but to surrender them- 
selves either to his favor or disfavor. 

On the following day — Friday, July 8th, 1547, the 
burgomasters and citizens of both cities in full num- 
ber repaired to the palace of Prague. The moment 
they had entered the doors were barred, and held by 
a numerous guard. The king pointed to a scaffold 
erected for this occasion, assumed an angry look, and 
took his seat on his throne; near him sat the judges, 
namely on his right hand the archduke Ferdinand, 
then the Moravian lords, Wenzel, chief recorder, 
Berthold von Lippa, chief marshal of Bohemia, and 
a numerous array of the foremost nobles. The bish- 
ops of Olmiitz and Breslau sat there also ; and Ladis- 



544 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

lav Popel of Lcbkovitz, held the naked sword before 
the king. The chief burg-graf proclaimed silence ; and 
the summons published to the citizens, and also the 
articles of accusation were read. The king announced 
to them their several offenses, and pointed out how in 
many particulars they had committed wrongs against 
him, and thereby had been guilty of the crime of 
high treason; and they must now explain and plead 
to each particular charge. 

Sixtus of Ottersdorf, chancelor of the old city of 
Prague, replied in the name of the citizens that they 
would not enter into any dispute with the king; that 
they all surrendered themselves to the favor or dis- 
favor of his royal majesty; that they earnestly re- 
quested the intercession of the archduke, the dukes, 
bishops, and councilors then present with the king. 
All then sank on their knees, besought the king re- 
peatedly to receive them at his pleasure, to forgive 
their disobedience, and to forbear to impose on them 
the full power of the law. The king finally permitted 
them to stand, and informed them through the chief 
recorder of Moravia Wenzel von Ludanitz that he 
witnessed their submission and had heard their peti- 
tion ; that they must now proceed to the court house 
and remain imprisoned there until he should have 
consulted with the lower court; he would then make 
known his determination. The king at once despatched 
an orderly to the emperor with the intelligence that 
he had now the Prague folk in his own power and 
imprisoned like a bird in a cage. After a few hours 
Wenzel of Ludanitz visited the prisoners and informed 
them that at the intercession of the princes and nobles 
present he had determined out of his natural goodness 
and clemency to spare his subjects of the estates of 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 545 

Prague, on the condition that they would assent to 
the following articles, which were then read; — 

I. That they should utterly dissolve the league they 
had formed on Valentine's day with the other estates, 
and that the next diet should tear off and destroy the 
seals of their bonds. II. That they would without 
delay surrender all the documents and writings relat- 
ing to the alliance which they had made as well with 
each other, as with other lords, knights and estates, 
and especially with the late elector John Frederic of 
Saxony. III. They would also abjure and surrender 
together all privileges and charters of liberty which 
they had received from emperors and kings and from 
ourselves, and "will abide submissively by all and 
everything that we may therein graciously ordain, alter 
or revoke." IV. Likewise all councils and guilds 
shall surrender all their privileges to us as they have 
ever been the cause of many disturl^ances and disorder 
in the estate. V. You shall convey to the palace at 
Prague all your cannon and munitions; and the se- 
lected citizens shall convey to the town halls and de- 
posit there all your fire arms and other weapons except 
swords. VI. You will likewise surrender to us all 
your rights of tenancy and of property in common to- 
gether with all agreements and bills of sale, and shall 
receive such from us and our heirs the kings of 
Bohemia through a diet. VII. You will pa}^ all 
tolls which you have hitherto determined in the three 
estates to us your king and strictly bind yourselves to 
impose, and pay to the king and his successors in Bo- 
hemia for all time, for every cask of beer one silver 
groschen, and the same sum for every bushel of 
malt. VIII. If you consent to all these we shall 
pardon all, and impose severer punishment on none 



546 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

with one slight exception; that we have determined to 
punish according to the course of justice, and for the 
good of the state all those who have grossly offended 
against our royal majesty. 

The prisoners, numbering six hundred, sought time 
for reflection, and for permission to take counsel with 
their fellow citizens ; but this would amount to a de- 
nial, they were informed, and they must not only ac- 
cept the articles at once, but themselves make the 
beginning of their execution so that they could be 
distributed through the cities. These men were dis- 
tributed in each vault and chamber of the building 
and strongly guarded. 

After an interval some of the prisoners were set at 
liberty though only within the limits of Prague; others 
received their freedom still later; some died, others 
lost their reason, while others again dropped dead on 
being set free. They had all been closely confined 
where they must eat and sleep, and wholly exist in 
the same rooms where the air and stench were deadly 
especially during the summer heat. Only forty re- 
mained in prison to receive a special sentence from 
the king. 

The same cruel inhuman and remorseless procedure 
was adopted in the other cities. The chief persons, 
burgomasters, councilors and aldermen to the number 
of forty or fifty in each city were imprisoned in the 
schloss. Here they remained until the king had con- 
fiscated all their lands, tolls, and corporate revenues, 
had surrendered all their liberties to him, and had 
further paid a fine of a hundred thousand Prague 
groschen. Many of these men forfeited their lives or 
their reason in prison. 

During the same month — July, 1547, a summons 



TBE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 547 

was issued to the aforesaid nobles and estates who 
had been charged with disloyalty, to appear on a 
day appointed before the tribunal, and answer for the 
offenses imputed to them. Several were banished for 
life; others were deprived of dignities and titles, and 
landed property, and even their lives were declared 
forfeited. A price of five thousand meissen shock was 
set on the head of Caspar Pflug ; but he fled to Sax- 
ony. All those summoned appeared on the day fixed 
and surrendered themselves unconditionally to the 
king. Only six and twenty remained in prison. Some 
of these were deprived of their lands, others of their 
lives at once; the remainder were compelled to sur- 
render their freeholds to the king and pay ruinous 
fines. 

On the day appointed for the diet the nobles, 
knights and envoys of the estates appeared in a nu- 
merous assembly. This diet received and has al- 
ways been known by. the name of "The Bloody Diet." 
The proceedings were opened with public executions 
of the condemned. A large scaffold had been erected 
in the Hradschin; and thither the condemned were 
led from their dungeons, guarded by a strong body of 
soldiers. Wenzel Pietepetky was first brought to the 
block. The executioner announced to the multitude 
assembled the criminal's offenses. He had not con- 
ducted himself as a loyal subject to his king, but had 
incited the people to elect another king; and for these 
reasons he was condemned to death. Then he was 
beheaded. Barchanecz advanced next. The execu- 
tioner said, "This man has encouraged others to stand 
together, and not abandon each other; they should 
adopt his advice^ and be prepared to forfeit property 
and life for the good of their country;" then his head 



548 H J STORY OF BOHEMIA 

was struck off. Similar charges wer'e announced 
against the others. They had resisted his majesty, 
and had declared that what was right in Duke Mau- 
rice of Saxony in rebelling against his sovereign was 
not wrong in them who had much greater reason for 
it. With the other victims appeared Jacob Vikar, 
who had, as usual in that age and previously, derived 
his name from his office as a court dignitary, juris- 
consult and judge. He was evidently one of the vic- 
arii or judicial representatives of the state first, and 
later of the crown, who constituted the connecting 
link between the ancient courts of the vicinage and 
the king's courts. As the freeholders who made up 
the court frequently absented themselves, and difficul- 
ties arose in procuring the required number, a class 
of persons skilled in the laws and usages gradually 
took the places of the freeholders, and constituted the 
court. Hence the vicarii became an established body 
of judicial persons; each of them- as a vicarius, and 
the office supplied the name. Many of them rose to 
eminence for individual acquirements in every age, 
and the name under various forms has descended to 
the present time. Jacob Vikar's crime consisted in 
his being a judicial officer sworn to administer the es- 
tablished constitution and laws, in having resisted 
the king's proceedings, and reported his illegal meas- 
ures to the estates. 

After this bloodshed the diet commenced its ses- 
sions. The chief burg-graf delivered a discourse in 
the name of the lords and knights wherein he declared 
they had no other purpose in their union than peace and 
unity in the kingdom; and as his majesty had ordered 
them to dissolve that union they were ready to do so. 
They resolved to depute the chief burg-graf of Bohe- 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 549 

mia, the chief recorder of Moravia, and some others as 
agents to proceed to the archive office, and tear off 
the seals of the Bund records, and destroy them M^ith- 
out delay. One thousand seven hundred and thirty 
lords and knights besides the citizens of Prague and 
other cities had associated themselves in this union. 
The high chancelor of the kingdom next declared in 
the king's name to the deputies of the estates that 
through their disloyalty these had certainly deserved 
to forfeit all seat and vote in the diet; but of his 
especial grace he would not inflict this punishment 
now; that in future first the members of the old city, 
then of the new city, and after them those of Pilsen, 
Budweis and Aussig should cast their votes. These 
three cities had obtained the privilege through their 
support of the king in present circumstances, and that 
as to the privileges of the estates, they must all first 
be examined so that some of them might judiciously 
be restored. 

The day following a large convoy conveyed to Vien- 
na all the muskets and other arms, and all other mu- 
nitions taken from the citizens. Then the forty pris- 
oners received the determined punishment. Eight 
of them were flogged in three successive public places. 
During each march the scourger proclaimed the offense ; 
and pronounced that in the same manner would all 
rioters be punished; and all those who mutinied 
against the king. Eight others were exiled. The re- 
maining twenty-four were fined and required to give 
bonds. Thus fell Prague ; her weapons broken, her 
strength crushed, and her force so utterly subdued 
that her former national dignity and greatness ap- 
peared a dream. 

"Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear 
Closed her bright eye and curbed her high career." 



5 50 HIS TOR Y OF B OH EMI A 

Henceforth Bohemia remained but a fragment of 
what she had been. Vestiges of her ruined institu- 
tions lay prostrate before her eyes, only to mock her 
in her sudden overthrow and spoliation. 

"Septimus a nato Christo dum curreret annus 

Supra quingentos mille quaterque decern, 
Mense datum est priiiii nomen cui Caesaris, orbi 

Octavum Phsebo restituente diem 
Praha suas et opes et vitam perdidit, uno 

Tempore, quam multa quaesiit ante die 
Illius reliquos casus mox perculit urbes 

Et factum capitis cauda sequuta sui est. 
Ergo jacent pariter nudatae dotibus omnes, 

Quas ipsis peperit cura decusque Patrum. 
Lugeat hunc casum turbato pectore quisquis 

Venturae curam posteritatis habet." 

Matt. Collinus a Choterina farr. III. 

Man machte damals auf den Fall der Prager 
Stadte verschiedene Gedichte. 

Pelzel II. Ann. 1547. 

Vincitur elector princeps a C^sare Saxus 

Obruitur ssevis regia Praga malis. Matt. Coll, 

Notwithstanding Ferdinand's ferocious severities 
the pulse of Bohemia still throbbed and even that 
throb caused the king anxiety. He apprehended the 
reprisal of despair; and the uprising of fierce resent- 
ment. The Bohemians had not fallen before his power 
great as it was, but before his craft and the subtlety 
of the new Spanish school, applied with extreme du- 
plicity. In the king's proceedings the counsel of 
John of Olmiitz — the "iron bishop," — was distinctly 
visible. It was the policy this prelate had advocated 
long before, and had put in force in Moravia. It was 
the policy that had invited Matthias Corvinus to 
smite and to bleed Moravia. The course pursued by 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 551 

Ferdinand, while strictly in accord with his disposi- 
tion and education, had not been conceived by him un- 
til his Hispano-Jesuitical allies had counseled him in 
the imperial camp. It was the policy now dictated at 
Rome. Ferdinand felt compelled to relinquish a por- 
tion of the ancient rights of the kingdom suddenly 
and violently snatched away. For this reason he re- 
stored some of the municipal privileges; but he com- 
pelled the citizens to purchase them at an exorbitant 
price. He consented to a municipal council, but of 
his own selection; and compelled the members to 
take the oath of allegiance to him and his successors. 
The new councils consisted solely of the king's ap- 
pointees; and scarcely a vestige of the former corpo- 
rate rights remained. When this process had been ac- 
complished the king reported to the emperor that he 
had pacified Bohemia. 

The year 1548 was spent by the king chiefly in ar- 
ranging the internal administration of the courts, and 
in appointing judges. The opinions they held neces- 
sarily accorded with the new principles of government. 
Ferdinand next attempted to entrench his government 
with a power that had hitherto, and has always since 
that day formed the great bulwark of his dynasty. 
At the diet in 1549 he proposed that the church 
and monastic lands which had been transferred to 
private hands should be restored to the ecclesiastics; 
and that the bishops and abbots should again form one 
order in the estates. But with all his authority he 
could not effect his purpose. But he obtained the 
recognition and declaration of his son Maximilian as 
his successor on the throne, with the reservation that 
the prince should not intervene in the government 
during his father's life. 



5 52 HIS TOR Y OF B OH EM I A 

Bohemia was quiet with the quietness of exhaustion ; 
and an expedition into Hungary against the Turks 
produced only some acts of heroism. The body of the 
people were still utraquists, and their position in 
that respect required adjustment. The two parties 
were invited to a conference with a view to a union. 

A few consented to this proposal; but the great 
majority still adhered firmly to their love for Luther 
and the proposition produced no effect. The Jews next 
felt the force of ecclesiastical displeasure. Their 
presence in the country was denounced; they were 
accused perhaps with truth of having secretly allied 
themselves with the Turks, and they were tolerated 
only on condition of wearing a yellow badge on the 
left arm. Up to that period the legal right to trans- 
mit propetry by will had not generally been conceded 
to all classes in Europe; but the year 1551 found this 
concession necessary in Bohemia. The property of a 
priest, who died intestate, was ordered divided into 
three portions, one part for the church and parish of 
the deceased, the second for the lord of the manor, and 
the third for the nearest relatives. 

The year 1553 saw Margraf Albert of Kulmbach over- 
thrown chiefly by Bohemian troops; and the following 
year is credited or discredited with the first open)}'- 
noticed passage of the gypsies through Bohemia, 
and thence the rest of Europe. In France they were 
misnamed Bohemians, and the words wanderer, vaga- 
bond and bohemian, have been in common speech 
almost synonymous since that time. 

In this year also the much vexed question of com- 
mon schools again arose. The utraquist consistory 
was attacked in the diet ; the high schools of Prague 
were in the hands ©f the same community, and the 



THE DECADENCE OE BOHEMIA 553 

professors belonged to the same denomination, and 
adhered to Luther's followers. Some small treatises 
were also printed. The Catholics denounced this ar- 
rangement and complained of being obliged to send 
their children to those schools. Hence arose a de- 
mand for the introduction of the Jesuit order into Bo- 
hemia. A petition was presented to the king for their 
admission as they devoted themselves to the educa- 
tion of youth, and Ferdinand readily complied. Twelve 
of this order arrived at Prague and were allowed to take 
possession of the site of the ruined Dominican monas- 
tery The king bestowed on them other estates in 
Bohemia and their schools were at once established. 
During this year, 1555, the formal decree of the 
council of Constance was revived and put in force 
throughout Bohemia. The literature of the Hussites 
formerly, and now of the Lutherans and United Breth- 
ren, excited the especial hostility of their opponents, 
The power of the estates even for self-defense was 
broken. Their remaning slight authority did not ex- 
tend to the country districts; and the most zealous 
utraquist proprietors had been either banished, be- 
headed or reduced to poverty. The adherents of the 
bishop of Olmiitz enforced his orders and attacked the 
especial objects of his vengeance. Domiciliary visits 
thoughout Moravia and to some extent through Bohe- 
mia also pursued the literature of the people as well 
secular as religious. The search became unsparing. 
Books of all descriptions, even those that illustrated 
the artistic skill and taste of the day in the highest 
degree, as well as the humblest primers fell equally 
beneath the inquisitorial ban of the iron bishop. 
Many of the Hussite books were bound in most costly 
fashion; adorned with family records illuminated with 



554 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

all the excellence and much of the splendor of the 
pictorial art of the age, and formed family possessions 
very highly prized. But every thing without distinc- 
tion fell under the interdict of the stern vengeance of 
the victoriojs ecclesiastics. Moravia within a brief 
period became utterly bare of books, and none others 
were substituted. 

Hardly had Ferdinand's "bloody diet" closed its 
labors and annihilated the constitution and liberties 
of the kingdom, thus exposing the reformers in both 
municipal and individual capacity to the unrestrained 
lawlessness of their persecutors, when the canons of 
the cathedral at Prague, supported by the bishops and 
the entire military force of the invading Spaniards, 
exacted from the king a decree for the total suppres- 
sion of printing books. The king was informed that 
not only heretical works were printed in Bohemia but 
frequently imported and distributed. A stern censor- 
ship became at once established. Little more than a 
few Latin fictions, cosmographies and city ordinances 
and such like were printed in Bohemia, This condition 
of affairs continued during the remainder of Ferdi- 
nand's reign to be strictly enforced. Some relaxation 
was graduall}' felt but not officially permitted after- 
ward, until the fatal day of November 8, 1620, when 
it was again renewed with tenfold rigor. But it must 
not be supposed that the people did not find means to 
supply themselves albeit scantily with the learning 
they coveted and prized. 

Books were smuggled across the frontier in 
every conceivable method. In casks of wine, in 
wool, in cloth, in coffins, in the bodies of dead 
animals, in small portions and separate leaves af- 
terward bound together, books and tracts passed in. 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA SSS 

Even the epitome of Balbinus was subjected to the 
censorship seven times. Down to 1848 the same in- 
terdict continued. Not even trade circulars were tol- 
erated, unless they had been submitted to the censor 
for a month. The best books were frequently wholly 
rejected and forbidden on account of a single passage. 
Such total inhibition of general literature necessarily 
recoiled fatally against the authority that ordained it; 
and the effects have always been felt when popula- 
tions and armies under Austrian control have been 
pitted against men of better knowledge and apter skill 
and training in the use of their natural intelligence. 
The ignorance of those nations subject to severe lit- 
erary censorship has at the same time beggared their 
treasury and chastised their military ambition. 

The fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and 
twentieth sections of the decree of 141 7 were revived 
in more than all their former severity because now 
less impediment existed to the enforcement of them. 
The terrors of Prague and other cities, the bloody 
executions crushed the hearts of the helpless people. 
The nineteenth section of the dreadful decree author- 
ized the most excessive persecution by means of dom- 
iciliary visits. Books on general literature fell under 
the common condemnation, and were destroyed as im- 
pious. Oaths and abjurations were exacted and all 
persons subjected to unlimited inquisition as to their 
possession of books, their knowledge of prohibited 
treatises, and their encouragement of condemned 
opinions. Even the songs and hymns of the household 
became the subject of inquisitorial proceedings. For- 
bearance to persecute became a crime. Under the 
twelfth section communion under both kinds involved 
absolute abjuration under severe penalties; and as 



556 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the great body of the inhabitants had long been de- 
voted utraquists the list of criminals was very lengthy. 
Every outward act and every inward thought of the 
people became subjected to ecclesiastical inquiry and 
punishment. Hence the United Brethren, one of the 
most blameless associations of men that have ever 
professed good will and generous self-sacrifice for their 
fellowmen, at once individually and collectively fell 
under the ban both of the spiritual and temporal 
power. In 1555 this community felt the blow. Two 
hundred of their ministers at once with their congre- 
gations were forcibly expelled from Bohemia and Mora- 
via. They went forth humbly, uncomplainingly, and 
leaving an example of acceptance of what seemed to 
them a divine call that their successors and a few oth- 
ers have admirably followed since that time. The spir- 
it of lofty devotion to a sacred principle has been at no 
time more amiably illustrated. Those persons who 
forcibly deprived Bohemia and Moravia of such excel- 
lent elements not only robbed their country of the 
best characters it contained at the time; but have de- 
nuded its population of hereditary gifts and graces that 
no nation can afford to lose. The effect of such pro- 
scriptions has appeared in the predominance of inferior 
qualities in several central European countries, and 
accounts for much of the degradation and viciousness 
of character that still defiles European provinces and 
is the curse of American cities, and industrial cen- 
ters. It is difficult to feel sympathy for populations 
that have wilfully wasted themselves by the destruc- 
tion of their own most inquiring and enterprising 
members. 

The remainder of Ferdinand's reign was in no way 
distinguished. He did commission messengers to plead 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 557 

before the Council of Trent for permission of the cup 
in the sacrament, as the great majority of the Bohe- 
mian people were devoted to that form. His ambas- 
sadors said: " — The great body of the Bohemian nation 
have enjoyed the use of the cup since the Council of 
Constance. Reasonings, arguments, violence, arms 
and war have all failed to deprive them of it. Not 
only the humbler people but the nobles and magis- 
trates in the cities drink of the cup. The church has 
indeed during the period of its custom permitted it on 
conditions; but as these have not been effectual there- 
fore has pope Pius II. interdicted it. Popes Paul III. 
and Julius III. gave their commissioners authority to 
forbid the cup to the Bohemians in order to restore 
them to the Romish church. But it all came to nought. " 
Ferdinand added another statement that "in other 
states Hungary, Austria, Silesia, Styria, Carinthia, 
Carniola, Bavaria and other parts of Germany the 
same desire was expressed with ardor. " He also stren- 
uously favored the marriage of priests saying, "I can- 
not avoid adding, what is a common observation, that 
priests who live in concubinage are guilty of greater 
sin than those who are married." "In Hungary the 
priests," he said "were compelled to administer under 
both kmds. Those who did this were degraded by 
their diocesans," and hence priests were driven out 
of the country. The pope consented to the cup ^ re- 
fused marriage. Ferdinand at once published the con- 
cession. 

Much administrative good sense did Ferdinand's 
envoys express before the council; but the assembled 
prelates, chiefly Spaniards and Italians, absolutely for- 
bade the cup to Bohemia. The simple formulae of the 
Hussite ministers were found more sweet and whole- 



558 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

some than all the prohibitions of ecclesiastics. The 
plain words were, "May the body of our Lord Jesus 
Christ conduce to the salvation of your soul;" and 
"May the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was 
shed for us on the cross conduce to the forgiveness of 
all your sins." These gentle words were mightier than 
armies and more penetrating than spears. 

Ferdinand, however, enjoyed one object of his am- 
bition and his efforts. He rendered the catholic church 
for the time predominant outwardly in Bohemia. At 
the beginning of his reign his subjects were conspic- 
uous for comfort in their dwellings, taste and luxu- 
riousness in their dress, intelligence and often learn- 
ing, in polite acquirements, emulous of good, and 
earnest in promoting the freedom and elevation of 
their native land. He left them impoverished, plun- 
dered, bruised, bleeding and despairing; a broken 
nation, whose very name even had become a subject 
of derision and scorn. 

The bare recital of the passage of armies and even 
of sieges and the sack of towns during this disastrous 
period does not present a full picture of the horrors 
inflicted by the invaders. The pay of mercenary troops 
was small and irregularly issued. Frequently no pay 
whatever was received; and in such cases the wretched 
inhabitants became objects of indiscriminate plun- 
der and insult. Commanding officers always exacted 
a share of whatever money passed through their hands. 
Generals far surpassed colonels in this extortion, and 
the vilest license everywhere accompanied the unlim- 
ited robberies committed by the banditti who formed 
the main body of all the mercenary armies of the daj'. 
Bohemia became doubly the object of rapine and 
spoliation. Her people had been denounced as here- 



THE DECADENCE OF BOHEMIA 559 

tics cursed of God and to be abhorred of men; and 
the fanaticism of predatory cut-throats instigated a far 
deeper degree of ferocity against the Bohemians than 
was customary. The hordes of crusaders of every de- 
gree who continually marched against the Turks found 
in Bohemia full opportunity and encouragement for 
unrestrained excesses. They were marched through 
for that purpose. Especially the churches, books, and 
other distinguishing marks of a thinking people be- 
came objects of ribald scorn and destruction. Church 
furniture was broken and burned, church service plate, 
chalices, pattens, and tankards always seized and 
melted wherever discovered. The books of the heretics 
formed the subject of unceasing search and unsparing 
punishment; and the possession of heretical treatises, 
and later of literatue of any kind, marked out the pos- 
sessor, especially the women and girls, as beyond the 
protection of law. The orders of monks and friars who 
accompanied the crusaders on all occasions took es- 
pecial pains to efface as far as possible every remnant 
of the hated Hussitism.* 

* In the foregoing narrative no exaggeration or distortion of the 
strict record has been permitted. Both German and Bohemian writ- 
ers transmit the events as here set down; but no printed statement 
could include the detailed horrors and crimes practised on individuals 
and families, all through Bohemia, during the truculent reign of Fer- 
dinand I. His proceedings, like those of all men stimulated by the 
concealed elements of madness, always took the side of the deceitful 
and the cruel. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN, RUDOLPH II., MATTHIAS, FERDI- 
NAND II. 

At the time of Ferdinand's death, July 25, 1564, the 
constitution of Germany had begun to assume con- 
sistency. Under Ferdinand the Austrian crown had 
obtained Hungary and Bohemia; but was divided in- 
to two branches, — the Spanish and Austrian. At the 
diet of Augsburg the reformed religion first became 
legalized. All parties were equal ; but the protestants 
had gained absolute supremacy in the states both in 
Bohemia and Austria. 

Maximilian H. quietly succeeded his brother. He 
took a Lutheran priest into his service and received 
the communion under both kinds. He often assisted 
at their services. He was, however, a civil ruler and 
head of a great dynasty. He saw the protestants di- 
vided. Their noble principle of the right of private 
judgment necessarily creates a wish for freedom. The 
catholics on the other hand were united. The doctrine 
of submission to one spiritual head combines them. 
Maximilian convened his first diet at Augsburg, March, 
1566. The two parties met in an unamiable mood; 
but succors were conceded against the Turks.* The 
dissensions of the Lutherans and Calvinists threatened 
fratricidal war. Hence under Spanish domination arose 
dreadful massacres in the Low Countries. According 
to Father Paul Sarpi, official historian of Venice, and 

* Vie de Commendon p. 289. 

560 



EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN 561 

author of the best account of the Council of Trent, 
fifty thousand persons perished under the bloody 
hands of the Spaniards. Grotius computes the number 
at one hundred thousand, including those who inci- 
dentally perished of want, neglect, and disease. Next 
followed St. Bartholomew in 1572; and then came the 
duke of Alva, and the horrors of his so-called govern- 
ment, only paralleled in Bohemia in subsequent years. 

Maximilian convoked his first diet of Bohemia at 
Prague in 1567; and at once annulled the compac- 
tata, that referred only to Catholics and Calixtines. 
At once the great body of the people professed the 
Lutheran creed. Other sects also avowed themselves. 
The following year full liberty of worship was ac- 
corded to Austria. Hereupon the legate Commendon 
was at once sent by Pius V. to remonstrate. Maximilian 
agreed not to further extend toleration in the Austrian 
states; but would not revoke his concessions. Prot- 
estant worship was, however, interdicted in the towns. 
Reformed ' doctrines spread widely under the sur- 
face. 

During this reign Hungary alone became the scene 
of war; but after the death of Solyman, 4th of Sep- 
tember, 1566, a peace was concluded. Maximilian 
being constitutionally delicate was anxious to provide 
for the accession of his eldest son Rudolph to the 
throne of Hungary and Bohemia. The prince was 
crowned at Presburg in 1572, and at Prague, 22nd 
of September, 1575. Possessing thus two kingdoms 
Rudolph became the choice of the imperial electors, 
and November ist, 1575, received the crown at Ratis- 
bon. The following year the wise and tolerant Max- 
imilian died at Ratisbon, October 12, the day and hour 
when a recess of the diet was published. This prince 



502 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

although the favorite of Charles V. did not adopt his 
dissimulation or duplicity. He was frank, candid and 
manly; and exhibited the dignity of truth and sim- 
plicity in all his conduct. Learned and affable with 
men of learning, he was remarkable for general knowl- 
edge ; and conversed fluently in different languages. 
Fond of society and cheerful in conversation, he was 
systematic in business, patient and complacent. The 
false glare of jewelry was never associated with his 
attire. Of this monarch the Bohemians said, "We 
Bohemians are as happy under his government as if he 
were our father. Our privileges, our laws, our rights, 
liberties and usages are protected, maintained, de- 
fended and confirmed." Reasonableness and a meas- 
ure of justice could have conferred peace on Bohemia. 
To Maximilian at once succeeded his son Rudolph, 
r, prince of a violently different character. From his 
mother, Mary, he derived an intense bigotry and hatred 
of all liberty of conscience. After Maximilian's death 
this princess retired to Spain; and expressed her joy 
at returning to a country where existed no heretic. 
Soon afterwards she entered a nunnery at Villamonte 
and died there in 1603. Rudolph inherited all the 
ambition of his house without any of the nobleness of 
his father, any of the vigor of his grandfather, or any 
of the dynastic shrewdness that had elevated his fam- 
ily. He succeeded to all the patrimony of the em- 
pire; and his brothers enjoyed only pensions. At his 
accession religious animosities had begun to subside. 
But Rudolph had been brought up by the Jesuits; and 
taught by them intolerance, intrigue and dissimula- 
tion. The palatinate and Saxon}^ unhappily at that 
moment were sorely divided by feuds between Calvin- 
ists and Lutherans. The catholic body in the empire 



EMPEROR RUDOLPH II. 563 

on the other hand seeing the tendency toward dissen- 
sion among their opponents adopted a systematic plan, 
originating in France, for the gradual extirpation of 
protestant tenets. The grand principle consisted in 
forcing the protestant states to insurrection by assaults 
on their privileges and religious liberties, recently 
acquired and not yet consolidated. Every stipulation 
of existing compacts was interpreted in favor of cath- 
olic demands wherever at all doubtful, concessions 
were revoked wherever possible by the aid of the rul- 
ing power, and constant interference and provocation 
were resorted to where legal pretenses failed. 

In Bohemia Rudolph for a time ruled in peace. He 
resided chiefly at Prague ; and here he exacted large 
and frequent contributions nominally against the Turks. 
But neither his disposition nor his advisers would per- 
mit him to remain quiet. He first abolished all prot- 
estant worship in Austria, without the smallest pre- 
tense except that he so willed, his next step was to 
abolish general liberty of conscience wisely established 
by his father. He refused all confirmation of Maxi- 
milian's edicts and hence the compactata were revived. 
This deceitful and vicious proceeding at once deprived 
all in Bohemia except Catholics and Calixtines of all 
rights under the law. Lutherans and Calvinists were 
formally forbidden and declared incapable of holding 
any office. Their schools were abolished; all protest- 
ant churches closed or provided with Catholic minis- 
trants. He next proceeded to prevent all persons 
from sheltering themselves under the name of Calix- 
tines. By his orders a synod was held at Prague in 
1605 wherein the decrees of Trent were published, so 
that in the words of a Bohemian historian, "the way 
to the Catholic church instead of being opened was 



564 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

shut up to the protestants; and even Calixtines driv- 
en to the Lutheran profession, notwithstanding the 
proscriptions with which it was loaded." At once hat- 
red and jealousy spread among all ranks. The same 
system was extended through the empire. The open 
quarrel commenced at Donaworth in Bavaria, a prot- 
estant and imperial city. Here the abbot of the Ben- 
edictine monastery deliberately provoked a contest 
with the magistrates by starting a procession forbid- 
den by the local statutes, through the streets. 

The Aulic Council, now wholly Catholic, issued a 
citation to the magistrates requiring an explanation 
of the prohibition of the procession. The citation was 
forwarded through the abbot, but he concealed it for 
several months, until two hours before a funeral. The 
Bavarian deputies arrived bearing a letter from the 
emperor announcing their mission which was to pre- 
vent Catholics from being insulted and disturbed in 
the exercise of their religious worship. A tumult 
broke out; but the magistrates suppressed it, and sent 
a regret to the court. The ban of the empire was 
at once denounced against the city. An army soon 
took possession, abolished the protestant religion, and 
delivered the churches to the Catholics. The city at 
once lost its place, and was reduced from its rank as 
imperial to be a Catholic and provincial town. Similar 
experiences at Aix-la-Chapelle created alarm; and con- 
vinced the protestants of the necessity of union. They 
were encouraged in this step hy the accession of John 
Frederic, a protestant, to the dukedom of Wiirtemburg ; 
and by the accession to their side of the Count Pal- 
atine of Neuberg who claimed Juliers and Barg, now 
endangered by the Spanish troops. At the diet of 
Ratisbon, January 12th, 1608, Ferdinand, duke of Sty- 



EMPEROR RUDOLPH II. 565 

ria presided. The known character of this prince, and 
his occupancy of the chair created further alarm. The 
protestants refused supplies until grievances were re- 
dressed,* Donawerth restored, protestants re admitted 
to the Aulic Council, the abolition of plurality of 
suffrages in religious decrees or the grant of subsidies. 
So greatly did the manifest tendencies of the court 
create a sense of impending danger, that on the close 
of the diet the protestants met at Aschhausen in Fran- 
conia, established a confederacy for ten years, and 
chose the elector Palatine for their chief, and Chris- 
tian of Anhalt and the margrave of Baden, Durlach, 
their generals. In i6og this confederacy was strength- 
ened by the adhesion of Strasburg, Nuremberg, Ulm, 
and other imperial towns. 

During this period tlie native indolence, ,or latent 
insanity of Rudolph overpowered his reason such as 
it was, and he abandoned himself to astrology, nec- 
romancy, painting, botany, low mistresses whom he 
changed constantly. He became hypochondriac, mel- 
ancholy, irritable, demented. He relinquished govern- 
ment ; and ambassadors could only obtain audience in 
his stables by disguising themselves as grooms. He 
lived in terror of apparitions, in gloom, suspicion, 
and almost madness. His superstitious fears drowned 
his reason. Such degradation almost compelled his 
brother Matthias to intrigue for his deposition. All 
the states of the empire were appealed to. The prot- 
estants who at that juncture held paramount power 
were conciliated by promises of full confirmation of 
their religious rights. Hungar}^, Austria and Mo- 

* From this date until 1640 the proceedings in the English parlia- 
ment seem to have been strongly influenced by the experiences of the 
protestants of Germany and Bohemia. 



566 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

ravia, that had especially endured torment from Ru- 
dolph, were readily gained. 

In 1608 the confederacy of Presburg took form. 
Rudolph, in his imbecility attempted a negotiation 
even with those he had insulted. Matthias marched 
from Vienna with 10,000 men; and encamped at 
Znaim. Here he was enthusiastically received, and 
contingents joined him raising his force to 25,000. 
He invited the Bohemians to meet him at Czas- 
lau; but Rudolph summoned the estates to Prague. 
Here the assembly demanded general toleration, 
communion under both kinds freely, the restora- 
tion of churches and burial grounds, the exclusion 
of foreigners from civil offices, the exclusion of priests 
from civil affairs, prohibition of all purchase of land 
by Jesuits, without the approval of the three estates. 
This demand was signed by 200 lords, 300 knights, 
and by all the deputies of the towns. At this critical 
moment ambassadors from Matthias waited on the es- 
tates. He promised full confirmation of all their priv- 
ileges and rights as a nation. When Rudolph ap- 
peared in the ar^.sembly Count Schlick handed him the 
articles. With an obtuseness that only sprang from 
clouded reason Rudolph asked for time, The estates 
demanded yes or no. He confirmed some of the de- 
mands ; deferred others. This attempt at evasive de- 
nial at once created revolt and in a very few days 
36,000 men were under arms. The Austrians and Hun- 
garians under Matthias committed depredations ; but 
an accommodation was proposed. 

Matthias approached. A pacification was effected 
whereby Hungary, Austria, and Moravia were ceded to 
Matthias, and he was declared successor to the crown 
of Bohemia as appointed king. The crown and sceptre 



EM PER OR R UD OLPH II. 567 

of Hungary were surrendered to him, and satisfied 
with these conditions he retired to Vienna. July 12^ 
1608, he held his first diet to receive homage. The 
protestants now demanded confirmation of all his en- 
gagements, Bafore an answer was returned worship was 
re-established at Sintz, Steger, Gemanden. The lord 
of Inzendorf opened his church. Matthias prevaricated 
and procrastinated; and his subjects retired and waited. 
Matthias hastened to Hungary and here he restored all 
privileges fully, and Illeshazy was elected palatine, 
the first protestant who held that office. Meantime the 
impatience in Austria led to open revolt; Moravia was 
induced to join and Matthias felt the necessity of 
preserving his promises, although he had vowed ven- 
geance aginst his protestant subjects if they continued 
the revolt. By formal capitulation of March 19th, 1609, 
all the privileges and immunities enjoyed under Max- 
imilian were restored to the Austrian protestants. A 
general homage of these states followed. 

Bohemia felt encouraged to expect similar advant- 
ages. After Matthias had retired Rudolph convoked 
a diet. Here the protestants demanded freedom of 
religious worship. The emperor denied that the priv- 
ileges confirmed by Maximilian were now in force. 
He attempted to separate the Calixtines from the 
others, but failed. The protestants now decided, un- 
der secret encouragement from Matthias to extort by 
force of arms those rights denied to their petitions 
and remonstrances 

The majority convoked another diet May 4th. 
Here deputies were commissioned to Matthias and 
the princes of Germany. The alarm spread. In 
half an hour 1,200 horse and 10,000 foot were in 
arms. The protestants proceeded to arrange their 



568 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA. 

plan for the defense of the country, and the pres- 
ervation of their civil and religious rights. They 
decreed the levy of an army. Count Thurn, and two 
others were chosen generals; thirty directors were 
named; a confederation concluded with the Silesian 
deputies. Immediately a force of 3,000 foot and 2,000 
horse was raised. Overawed by this force and remem- 
bering his humiliation by Matthias, Rudolph submit- 
ted, and with rage in his voice and manner, July nth, 
1609, he signed the royal edict generally styled the 
Lettre de Majeste, whereby not only full toleration, but 
churches and schools were accorded without reserve 
to his protestant subjects of Bohemia. An ecclesias- 
tical consistor}' was also provided for, defenders of the 
faith included, to watch over the affairs of religion and 
prevent any infringement; and all ordinances to the 
contrary were annulled.* Similar conditions were ob- 
tained for Silesia. Though this charter was executed 
by the emperor it was deceitfully denied enrollment, 
and was thus restricted in its force as a fundamental 
law of the empire. It was a mere edict of Rudolph. 
The tragic fate of the document will appear hereafter. 
The estates now endeavored to restore quiet by 
an agreement with the Catholic party for a general am- 
nest}'. This formalit}' was agreed toani the document 
signed by all parties except William Slavata and Yar- 
oslav Martinetz. The churches were opened and quiet 
restored everywhere. Still the protestants were ex- 
cluded from the Aulic Council and were thus deprived 
of their chief means of protection against imperial 
encroachments. From that side they had no protec- 
tion whatever. May 20, 1609, an embassy from the 

* Goldast Append 368. Pelzel 653. The restrictions often as- 
serted to exist in this celebrated instrument do not appear in the or- 
iginal presented by Goldast, the Jesuit advocate of th^ Austrian house. 



EMPEROR RUDOLPH II. 569 

united protestants of Germany reached Prague; and 
strengthened by this concurrence the estates deter- 
mined to require a definite answer to their former 
demands from the emperor. After stern remonstrances 
from the prince of Anhalt strengthened by an allusion 
to Julius Caesar,* Rudolph's fears, and the remem- 
brance of Matthias compelled him to make a formal 
reply. He engaged to expedite the proceedings so 
that the princes should have no just cause of com- 
plaint, to improve his administration, and restore Don- 
awerth within four months. The estates felt strong 
enough to accept these evasive and vague promises. 
The attitude of the Aulic Council continued hostile ; 
and distrust spread through the empire. At this junc- 
ture Henry IV. of France openly interposed. He had 
already with profound secrecy connected himself with 
the princes of the confederacy. A general protestant 
union was effected at Hall, January 27th, 1610. Am- 
bassadors were at once commissioned to England, 
Denmark, Venice, Switzerland and the United Prov- 
inces, and correspondence opened with Bohemia, 
Moravia, Silesia. Saxony alone objected. During these 
proceedings Rudolph in his madness determined to 
break with Bohemia by fair means or foul. He kept 
on foot a body of 16,000 men raised in the diocese of 
Passau and full of venom against Bohemia. Rudolph 
deliberately withheld their pay knowing that the re- 
sult must be an irruption for plunder. Under their 
chief Rainee they broke into Austria, and thence at 
once into Bohemia in 1610 and marched toward Prague, 
seizing Kronau, Piseck, Tabor, Beraun where they 
were joined by Archduke Leopold. The concerted con- 
spiracy became evident. Consternation spread through 
* For this interview see Schmidt, viii, 271-273. 



570 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Bohemia at this treacherous invasion. The estates 
assembled; but the emperor, full of prevarication, de- 
clared that all had been done without his order, and 
his knowledge. Rainee encamped on the White Mount- 
ain declaring he came as a friend to the emperor and 
the estates. This body demanded an explanation of 
all these proceedings. Leopold proceeded to the 
camp, as if for instructions, and returned proposing 
that the troops should retire, and evacuate the towns 
if not molested. These terms were accepted and pro- 
visions sent to the camp. But at dawn these troops 
stole in to the town, seized a gate, massacred the 
guard, killed all they met, and occupied the little 
town. They then attempted to seize the part lying 
beyond the Moldau but were repulsed with severe loss. 
Rudolph invited the estates to unite with Leo- 
pold, and demolish the intrenchments. Being refused 
he furnished Leopold five pieces of artillery to com- 
mand the old town. The estates at once appealed to 
Matthias and the Moravians and levied troops who 
bore on their standards the motto "Against Rainee." 
Matthias sent a body of 8,000 Hungarians. The troops 
of Nassau retreated having extorted 300,000 florins from 
the emperor, all of which belonged to Bohemia. On 
their march they were defeated with a loss of 2,000 
and took refuge in Budweis, Stung to indignation 
the Bohemians' under Count Thurn burst into the pal- 
ace and took Rudolph prisoner. Matthias soon arrived 
and received a splendid welcome. All parties now 
felt compelled to wrest the crown from Rudolph as a 
perfidious conspirator against the lives and fortunes 
of his subjects. He was required to summon a diet. 
Knowing the purpose of this body he determined to 
anticipate it. Accordingly he requested that his brother 



EMPEROR RUDOLPH II 571 

should be crowned at once as age and infirmities 
oppressed him. To all these proceedings the electors 
of Saxony and Mentz presented formal objections. 

Notwithstanding his abdication Rudolph clung 
to the hope of differences between Matthias and 
the estates. This body did not omit this great op- 
portunity to recover all their privileges including the 
right to elect their sovereign. They needed only an 
acknowledgment; as the estates necessarily possessed 
the right so long as they existed. Matthias having 
no other title than a free election fully conceded and 
confirmed the claim. The estates also demanded 
concession of the right to assemble when and where 
they chose, to have sole control of the finances, to 
remove the great officers, make alliances and a con- 
federacy with the Hungarians and Austrians and raise 
and command an armed force b}' their own authority. *" 
Matthias did not refuse; and agreed to a general con- 
firmation of all their rights. This concession still left 
open a most dangerous postern for the admission of 
cavils against each specific right when claimed. But 
those promises satisfied the estates. Rudolph's agents 
had contended against these negotiations but failed 
utterly; and Rudolph himself in his impotent rage 
threw up the window of his apartment and exclaimed, 
clenching his hand, — "Prague, unthankful Prague, who 
hast been so highly elevated by me, now thou spurnest 
thy benefactor! Ma}^ the curse and vengeance of God 
fall on thee and on all Bohemia." May 23rd was fixed 
for the coronation and Rudolph was required to ab- 
solve his subjects from all allegiance to himself. Shak- 
ing with rage he deliberate!}^ blotted the writing and 

* See the demands of the English parliament a few years later. 
The contest was the same in both countries. 



572 HrSTORY OF BOHEMIA 

stamped the pen to pieces. On the day of coronation 
the estates assembled and the chancellor read the act 
of abdication. The ceremony of election in full form 
resulted in the choice of Matthias. He at once con- 
firmed all the rights and privileges of the nation civil 
and religious. Rudolph was permitted to reside in 
Prague with a pension of 400,000 florins, and the 
lordship of Brandeiss, I.,essa, Pardewiz and Pitzaran. 
But he was compelled to publish the ban of the em- 
pire against the troops of Passau; and Rainee was 
beheaded by order of Leopold, who had favored and 
incited his violence. Homage was rendered to Mat- 
thias in Silesia and Lusatia amid great rejoicing. It 
was the halcyon day of Bohemia. 

Amid great splendor the protestant princes met at 
Rothenburg. Here they perfected regulations for 
maintaining their confederacy, for the levy of troops 
and contributions, and maintaining arsenals, maga- 
zines and places of arms. Rudolph's imbecility at- 
tempted to treat with them, but his advances were 
repulsed with contempt. The princes recounted his 
iniquitous actions, his persecutions of protestants and 
his wicked administration On the other hand the am- 
bassadors of Matthias were received with the utmost 
distinction. December 14th, 161 1, an electoral meet- 
ing was held at Nuremburg. Rudolph recounted his 
distresses and humiliation. He received a most con- 
temptuous answer. The princes told him "he was 
himself the cause of the contempt into which he had 
fallen." He was pressed to assemble a diet for the 
election of a king of the Romans. He evaded the 
request ; and the electors of their own authority sum- 
moned a meeting for the 31st of May. This was 
Rudolph's last humiliation. Broken in heart and 



DEATH OF RUDOLPH 573 

body he soon expired in the sixtieth j^ear of his age. 
Rudolph's actions indicate his character. He pos- 
sessed a perverted mind, easily biased by an evil ed- 
ucation. His disposition was chiefly marked by de- 
ceitfulness and treachery. His nature was wholly un- 
kingly, and marked by frequent acts of baseness. His 
tendencies were low, and the fatuity that marked his 
conduct indicated natural imperfections if not mental 
disease. The period of his reign has been pointed to 
as a day of literary activity and excellence in Bohemia. 
Measurably the statement is true, but the influence of 
Rudolph cannot receive the credit. The literary im- 
pulse had been communicated to the nation long be- 
fore that date. The perverted example of the emper- 
or encouraged charlatans, impostors and perverters 
of all education ; and his hostility to the books and 
literature of the reformers, as well in science and gen- 
eral knowledge as in religion, denounce Rudolph as 
the enemy of true learning. 

After an interregnum of six months Matthias rose 
to the imperial dignity and he signed a capitulation 
even more stringent than that of his predecessors. 
His own conduct had exhibited an example of rebel- 
lion perhaps contagious; and a spirit of investigation 
and discussion of the most vital questions in politics 
and religious philosophy prevailed in his dominions. 
Nations now felt their rights, held them in their grasp 
and knew the necessity of controlling them. Yet the 
old absolutism still demanded pre-eminence, and sub- 
jects were yet scarcely deemed by rulers to be com ■ 
petent to manage their own affairs. Great conflicts 
were inevitable. The spirit of liberty was abroad, but 
neither civil nor political rights had been defined, or 
fixed, or fully ascertained. In England and in Bo- 



574 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

hernia the institutional and popular principle came di- 
rectly into collision with the arbitrary principle. The 
conflict in both cases was identical. Each nation 
watched the other, and seems to have adopted the very 
words and maxims of the other. Bohemia came first; 
and the close sympathy between the two at every step 
is clearly distinguished.* 

Matthias endeavored to secure peace. But a spirit 
was abroad as hostile to kings as to popular liberty 
except wherever the king happened to be controlled by 
it. This spirit was based on the iron despotism of 
the Jesuits. The emperor's good intentions received 
serious opposition from the determination of the Jes- 
uit party to create difficulties and cause provoca:tions. 
Contentions arose at Aix-la-chapelle and at Mulheim 
on the Rhine. In each case the design was to encroach 
on protestant rights, and provoke contention. At 
Mulheim the fortifications were ordered demolished 
and buildings forbidden. The princes found differ- 
ences among themselves; and as Matthias and his 
brothers were childless the question of succession un- 
der the recent system of imperialism became import- 
ant. Maximilian of Bavaria, son of the bigoted fa- 
natic William who retired to become a hermit, de- 
clined the honor, and proposed Ferdinand of Styria. 
Matthias objected; but the assent of both branches of 
his family overcame his objections. At a diet in 
Prague in 1616, Matthias himself proposed Ferdinand 
and the coronation took place June i6th. The charac- 
ter of this prince created an era in modern history; and 
filled the world with more bloodshed, ruin, agony, hatred 

* See the debates in the English parhament 162 1 to 1640, the very 
period of Bohemia's agony on the same grounds of contention. 



EMPEROR MATTHIAS ' 575 

and evil than an3' other in modern history. It sheds 
its lurid light over Austria to this day. 

Ferdinand was born in 1578, educated in the straitest 
scliool of the Jesuits, and his apt mind, of its own natu ■ 
ral tendencies, adopted not only their maxims but their 
spirit, in the extreme strength and fervency of both. Ha- 
tred amounting to horror of religious freedom, grafted 
on a character naturall}' truculent, wielded imperial 
power and bent imperial privilege and influence toward 
the utter suppression and .extermination of intellectual, 
political, and religious rights and freedom in his do- 
minions. His inflexible bigotry and intolerance at 
first filled the Netherlands, England, France, Ger^ 
man}^, Ital}', with ruin and conflagration after multi- 
plied cruelties; but finally extorted from the world 
the stern assertion of those very principles that Fer- 
dinand labored to extirpate. 

He frequently expressed his preference to live 
an exile, beg his bread, submit to every insult, 
lose even his life rather than suffer the Rojnan 
church to suffer. On his accession to his own 
estates he at once abolished the privileges con- 
firmed by his father to the protestants of Styria, sent 
commissioners to eject the preachers and enforced 
their orders with troops. He made a pilgrimage to 
Loretto and bound himself by most solemn vows never 
to rest until he had extirpated what he called heresy. 
At Rome itself he received consecration to that 
work from Clement VHI. Let Bohemia know again 
whence her ruin came. In 1598 Ferdinand returned; 
and immediately banished all preachers and school- 
masters by force. In their place he established con- 
vents of Capuchins at Gratz and Bruck, and Jesuits 
at Gratz, Laybach and Clagenfurth. All protestants, 



576 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

who constituted more than two-thirds of his subjects, 
were ordered to quit his dominions. In their places 
Catholics from Wallachia and elsewhere were intro- 
duced. Commissioners marched from town to town, 
and village to village demolishing the new churches 
and school houses of the protestants. Notwithstanding 
these notorious violences, so reluctant had the reformers 
become to encourage strife that Ferdinand was chosen 
and crowned king of Hungary at Presburg, and of Bo- 
hemia in 1618. The protestants of those countries re- 
lied on the strength of their actual position; but they 
became distrustful, and Ferdinand soon afforded cause 
of alarm. He specially selected for the council of 
regenc}' the two councilors, Slavata and Martinetz who 
had refused to sign the religious peace. He at once 
distinguished them with much confidence; and they 
exhibited their zeal by most cruel persecutions on 
their estates. They are accused of chasing their ten- 
ants to Catholic churches with dogs, and to have 
forced open the peasants' mouths to insert the Catholic 
host. Their example was followed through Bohemia 
whenever occasion afforded opportunity. Ferdinand's 
confidential ministers did not hesitate to declare that 
peace could only be secured by executions and confis- 
cations. Public alarm became intensified by the dis- 
closure of the secret treaty with Spain to transfer the 
crown of Bohemia to that branch not excepting fe- 
males, who were preferred to females of the German 
branch, if the male line should fail. This assault on 
the fundamental and most integral principle of he 
Bohemian constitution, and basis of all national right 
at once united Catholics with protestants all through 
the land. The last right of Bohemia was menaced. 
Matthew Henry, Count Thurn, then occupied the fore- 



EMPEROR MATTHIAS STi 

most place in the nation by talents, position, and 
character. His proposition to Ferdinand caused his 
dismissal from the burgravate of Carlstein, a post of 
confidence. He at once sought to combine adherents, 
and formed an association with the estates of Austria 
and Hungary, and members of the German union. 

The exasperating intolerance of the court rapidly 
fanned the flame of discontent. The Lettre de Majeste 
whereon the present peace of Bohemia was founded 
contains this passage: — "And if they may wish to 
erect and build still more and other churches than 
those they now hold and possess, or any schools for 
the instruction of youth, it shall be lawful for them 
to do so, as well in the cities themselves as in towns 
and villages, freely and without hindrance." This 
sentence gave rise to the thirty years war. It is the 
language given b}' Goldast.* There is no ambiguity 
in the words. But a difficulty was easily discovered 
outside the document itself. Under v/ords here quoted 
permission to erect churches on ecclesiastical domains 
had not been specifically accorded. The ecclesiastical 
proprietors now denied the right to do this on their 
domains. Under the right, as they supposed con- 
ferred, the protestants had erected a church at Bru- 
nau belonging to the abbot of that place, and at 
Klostergrab in the domains of the archbishop of 
Prague. These persons objected to the structures as 
an infringement of their feudal rights, not as a vio- 
lation of the law. The church at Brunau was closed, 
that at Klostergrab torn down. 

At these proceedings, clearly connived at by 
the court, the estates renewed their confedera- 
cies with the other powers. The people of Bru- 

* App. Doc CXI. 



578 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMIA 

nau sent deputies to Matthias, but they were 
arrested and imprisoned. Count Thurn called a 
meeting of six delegates from each circle, March 6th, 
1618. A petition was drawn up declaring the demo- 
lition of the church a breach of the royal edict, and 
demanding the liberation of the deputies. The em- 
peror charged the delegates with disobedience and 
revolt, and forbade all future assemblies, at the same 
time ordering the discontinuance of all attempts to 
excite commotion until he should come to Bohemia. 
This answer was not addressed to the delegates but 
to the council of regency controlled now by Slavata 
and Martinetz. Six of the council including the three 
protestant members were then absent. The following 
morning the delegates were addressed earnestly by 
Count Thurn; and on the following morning with 
their retainers they appeared in arms. Forthwith they 
strode into the council chamber where were four re- 
gents, the burgrave of Prague, Dupold of Lobcovitz, 
grand prior of St. Mary's, the two hated nobles, Sla- 
vata and Martinetz, and their secretary, Fabricus. One 
of the delegates addressed them with reproaches ; but 
Kolon of Feltz exclaimed, "We have no complaint 
against the burgrave and the lord of Lobcovitz : our 
business is with Slavata and Martinetz the persecutors 
of the protestants." The burgrave interposed, but 
another delegate exclaimed "Let us follow the ancient 
custom of Bohemia and hurl them from the window." 
Martinetz was at once thrown out. Then the delegates 
looked confused, but Thurn exclaimed, "Noble lords 
another object awaits your vengeance." In an in- 
stant Slavata and Fabricius were also thrown out. All 
fell a distance of eighty feet but were saved b}^ a heap 
of litter. After two days to arrange their plans they 



EMPEROR MATTHIAS 579 

again assembled with all the forms of a diet, and re- 
newed their confederacy. They elected thirty direc- 
tors from the estates; expelled the archbishop of 
Prague and the abbot of Brunau; drove out the Jes- 
uits; sent a pressing appeal to the estates of Silesia 
and Moravia, as well as Hungary. To the emperor 
they addressed a respectful apology; and justified their 
acts by the fate of Jezebel. 

Matthias well knew the temper of Bohemians and 
the ascendency of the protestants in all parts of the 
empire. He desired to act with moderation; and in this 
course was encouraged by Cardinal Klesel, but opposed 
by Ferdinand. On this occasion the king delivered 
a secret memorandum to the emperor. He said that 
"Since the introduction of heresy into Bohemia we 
see nothing but tumults, disobedience and rebellion. 
While the Catholics and the sovereign have displayed 
lenity and moderation these sects have become strong- 
er, more violent, and more insolent. They have left 
nothing to the sovereign but his palaces and the con- 
vents.* If the emperor and the house of Austria are 
successful the forfeited property of the rebels will 
defray the expense of their armaments; if unfortunate 
they can only lose with arms in their hands the rights 
and prerogatives which are and will be wrested from 
them with shame and dishonor." Matthias was more 
prudent. He obtained a subsidy and troops from 
Spain; assembled 10,000 men, and entrusted the 
command to Dampierre; 8,000 Spaniards under Buc- 
quoi, a native of the Netherlands and a pupil of Spin- 
ola; prohibited all levies of troops in the empire for 
the support of Bohemia. To the estates he declared 
that he had never intended to infringe the royal edict; 
* An exceedingly valuable testimony. 



58o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and had armed only because they had; and if they 
would desist from hostile preparations he would dis- 
band his forces, would confirm the royal edict and give 
full security for the maintenance of their civil and 
religious privileges. He also sent two ministers to 
Prague to effect an accommodation. The known char- 
acter and the declared policy of Ferdinand prevented 
the acceptance of this offer; and his conduct speedil)^ 
justified their apprehensions. Enraged at being dis- 
appointed of his expected vengeance against the prot- 
estants he turned his whole resentment against Klesel 
to whose advice and influence he attributed the lenity 
of the emperor. With the assistance of Maximilian 
whom Klesel had equally offended, July 20th, 1618, 
he caused the minister to be arrested in the midst of 
the court, stripped of his cardinal's robes, and con- 
veyed under escort in a covered carriage to a castle in 
the Tyrol. When this outrage was committed he went 
with Maximilian to the imperial apartment to convey 
the intelligence to Matthias, wlio was known to be 
laid up with gout and unable to exert himself. Fer- 
dinand endeavored to justify the deed, representing the 
cardinal as a weak and wicked minister whose policy 
would divide and ruin the house of Austria. Enio- 
tion at first suppressed the emperor's utterance, and 
on recovering from his first impulse, and finding himself 
thus insulted in his helpless condition, thrust the bed 
clothes into his mouth and almost choked himself to 
avoid speaking. He could not do himself justice in 
words at that moment; and he felt the agony of hav- 
ing given himself a master who seemed eager to follow 
his own example. He submitted to the indignity with 
sullen silence. Ferdinand now pursued his designs 
without control. He led 5,000 men into Moravia and 



EMPEROR MATTHIAS 581 

ordered Dampierre to invade Bohemia. At court were 
heard only boasts that the rebellious peasants would 
soon be overpowered by the disciplined troops of 
Spain. The directors concerted measures of defense; 
and, as almost every town in the kingdom joined in 
the insurrection, in July Tliurn found himself at the 
head of 10,000 men. His first object was to secure 
Budweis, Pilsen and Krummau the only towns faith- 
ful to the emperor. The last named place was readily 
taken; but Thurn was summoned from before Budweis 
by the invasion of Dampierre, who advanced toward 
the capital. The imperial troops were defeated at 
Czaslau and Lomnitz. Bucquoi was not more suc- 
cessful. He found obstacles at every step; and the 
excesses committed b}' his troops multiplied enemies. 
At this point the Bohemians were reinforced by the 
Silesians and Lusatians and by succor from the prot- 
estant league. Antipathy to Ferdinand extended to 
all protestants of the empire. Matthias endeavored 
to obtain a dissolution of both the union and the 
league. The latter renewed their agreement for three 
years, chose for their chief the elector Palatine who 
was elated by his recent marriage with a daughter 
of James I. of England; and he hoped by a league 
with the elector of Brandenburg to secure for himself 
the crown of Bohemia. He also proposed to elevate 
Maximilian to the empire; but the latter prince 
firmly declined these overtures. Frederic also addressed 
the duke of Savoy who listened, and bestowed on the 
cause a subsidy and a corps of 4,000 men, commanded 
by Count Mansfeld who had distinguished himself in 
the Low Countries on the side of Austria. But he 
quitted this service in disgust and materially assisted 
Savoy in the Italian war. While the union endeav- 



582 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ored to mediate with the emperor Mansfeld entered 
Bohemia; besieged and took Pilsen, and marched to 
Prague. After a severe resistance the fortress sur- 
rendered. This success materially checked the im- 
perialists, and if the Bohemians now possessed a 
leader of the old stamp their cause must necessarily 
prevail. Dampierre retreated to Austria; Bucquoi was 
driven back to Badweis where he intrenched, as this 
place was the only remnant of the Austrian posses- 
sions in Bohemia. Matthias convoked the estates at 
Vienna; but only obtained reproaches for undertaking 
war with Bohemia without their consent. The duke 
of Bavaria and the elector of Mentz recommended an 
accommodation. Matthias accepted the arbitration of 
the electors of Saxony, Mentz, Bavaria and Palatine. 
Egra was selected for the proposed congress; but on 
the 20th of March, i6ig, Matthias died.* 

No prospect could be more gloomy than that pre- 
sented to Ferdinand II. on his accession. He possessed 
indeed the sovereignty of Hungary, Bohemia, Austria, 
Styria, Carinthia, Carniola. But in every direction 
he saw the flames of rebellion and his authority either 
secretly undermined or openly annihilated. The prot- 
estant union displayed great power and was aided by 
the United Provinces. The support of France was on 
their side; that of England was expected for the elector 
Palatine. All Bohemia except Budweis was in the 
power of the insurgents. The Silesians and Lusatians 
had joined Bohemia and the Moravians were expected 
to do the same, Hungary showed its disaffection; 
and Bethlehem Gaborf of Transylvania had promised 

* See for this general narration, Pelzel, Heiss, Schmidt and Hein- 
rich as chief authorities. 

f His true name was Gabriel Bfethleem, but in that region a cus- 
tom prevailed of setting the surname first. He is universally men- 
tioned by the name in the text. 



FERDINAND II. 583 

active aid, and was then confederated with Bohemia. 
Austria was only prevented from open rebellion by 
the presence of Dampierre. Ferdinand endeavored to 
pacify or divide his opponents, and especially to throw 
them off their guard. He sent a minister to Prague, 
and ordered Bucquoi to abstain from hostilities for the 
present. But he refuted all his professions by re-et:- 
tablishing the hated council of regency and refusing to 
address or recognize the directors. His evident pur- 
pose being to gain time his hollow proposals were re- 
jected with contempt. Mansfeld remained at Bud- 
weis to watch Bucquoi; and as he was considered 
fully equal to this task Thurn marched to Moravia 
with 16,000 men. His arrival instantly completed 
the revolt. The Austrian government in Moravia was 
abolished. Thurn then burst into upper Austria, and 
marched to the gates of Vienna, — all but one. He 
occupied the suburbs and supposed he blockaded the 
town. From this point Thurn demonstrated the fact 
that while he possessed qualities calculated to attract 
popular admiration, he did not include in his character 
the toughness and stamina necessary for a general 
protecting the desperate extremity of his country's 
resistance to ferocious invaders. The states of the 
lower district assembled at Vienna. The catholics 
were too insignificant to possess any power. Ferdi- 
nand sent his family to the Tyrol, while the walls of 
his palace were battered by Bohemian cannon. Loud 
cries of vengeance arose in the streets. "Shut him 
up in a convent; put his evilcounselors to the sword," 
was shouted in his ears. The crisis of his fate had 
come. Sixteen members of the estates burst into his 
apartment with threats and reproaches. But at this 
awful mom.ent the sound of a trumpet outside an- 



584 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

nounced the arrival of 500 horse sent by Dampierre. 
They silently entered by a gate left unguarded. The 
malcontents shrank away. News soon afterward ar- 
rived that Bucquoi had taken Mansfeld unawares and 
defeated him totally. June 22nd, Thurn was recalled 
to protect Prague. When released from this danger 
Ferdinand hastened to Germany to secure the impe- 
rial crown. The protestants diligently maintained 
their divisions. Saxony kept" aloof. The elector Pala- 
tine did not possess a character or a position sufficient- 
ly commanding to enforce or induce union. England, 
Denmark and Sweden were all unwilling to engage 
in foreign wars. James I. had no parliament; and 
had not one for five years, and was now so poor that 
he was reduced to economical shifts to maintain his 
court. Deep discontent at the king's attempt to gov- 
ern without a parliament filled the English mind. 
The United Provinces found serious occupation at 
home. The situation of France annihilated all hope 
of aid from that kingdom. The dagger of Ravailac 
had deprived that country of its weight in Europe; 
and its policy was now wholly undetermined. Louis 
XIII. surrounded by mean favorites who were the ob- 
jects of especial animosity scarcely governed at all. 
The assassination of the favorite D'Ancre and the ex- 
ecution of his wife Eleonora Galigai are stated to have 
released the king from thraldom; but no public pol- 
icy was possible. During this condition of affairs Fer- 
dinand was recommended to the electors as the most 
available candidate for the imperial throne; and on 
the gt-h of September his election was completed. On 
this occasion the Bohemian ambassadors were ex- 
cluded. Soon after Ferdinand quitted Vienna a gen- 
eral diet of the estates of Bohemia, Moravia, Lusatia 



EMPEROR EERDINAND II. 585 

and Silesia assembled at Prague. They were joined 
by the protestants of Austria, and Hungary, and were 
assured of the support of Bethlehem Gabor. They 
drew up a formal list of grievances; proclaimed that 
Ferdinand had forfeited his dignity; and proceeded 
by their inherent right of election to nominate a new 
sovereign. They declared that Ferdinand had broken 
his coronation oath, invaded the country with foreign 
troops, and violated the right of election. The cath- 
olics possessed neither numbers nor influence in this 
assembly. To conciliate the Calvinists they were 
allowed to offer the crown to the elector of Saxony. 
He firmly declined the dangerous honor; and Frederic 
v., elector Palatine, was elected king of Bohemia with 
only six dissentent votes, September 7th, i6ig. Mora- 
via, Lusatia and Silesia were allowed to participate, 
a privilege often claimed but never before conceded, 
As the active support of England had been confidently 
expected the relations between Bohemia and that coun- 
try may be here briefly presented. Scarcely had the Bo- 
hemian estates thrown down the gauntlet by the "de- 
fenestration of Prague," when negotiations with all 
protestant estates and princes, and others supposed to 
be more or less hostile to the empire, were set on foot. 
Among others James I. of England, as "Defender of 
the Faith," as a professed friend of constitutional gov- 
ernment, with king and parliament, and as father-in- 
law of a German elector who was the head of the 
protestant union, and himself an advanced reformer, 
became the object of special attention. June i6th, 
i6i8, "The estates of Bohemia sub utraque" addressed 
to this monarch a very urgent request to take their 
affairs into his kingly care. James, however, did not 
at all comprehend the trouble, knew nothing of Bo- 



586 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

hemian politics, and remained silent. Viscount Don- 
caster, however, was selected as ambassador to the 
powers concerned, and after some delay departed on 
his mission. The correspondence resulting is full 
oply of dreary platitudes. James at that moment had 
two objects in view, first the Palatinate and second 
the Spanish match for Charles, prince of Wales. Both 
these objects became the subject of earnest debates 
in parliament. The king was compelled to listen to 
very earnest, almost stern declarations of privilege; 
and his House of Commons kept a close control over 
supplies. From the outset the Spanish marriage was 
distrusted and discountenanced The Palatinate on 
the contrary engaged the full sympathy of the English 
nation. The parliament of 1614 was dissolved June 
7th of that year; and Rushworth informs us that not 
until 1620 were writs issued for another. 

This parliament was summoned for January 13th, 
prorogued to i6th and then to the 30th. During the 
sessions of this assembly occurred the disasters of Bo- 
hemia; but we have no debates during the negotiations 
of 1618, 1619 and the early part of 1620. But dur- 
ing this time very active intervention in the affairs of 
Bohemia took place on p^per. Every state in Europe 
became deeply stirred by the events transpiring around 
Prague. The elector Palatine himself respectfully 
but cautiously explained in a vacillating way the troub- 
les around him. His wife's letters are far more pointed 
and more brief. The indefiniteness of Frederic's char- 
acter is conspicuous in this correspondence. James 
started out with the professed object of allaying the 
discontents by negotiation, and that of a very perfunc- 
tory character. June 25, 1618, Sir Francis Collington 
wrote from Madrid that "the stirs in Bohemia were 



EMPEROR EERDINAND II. 587 

speedily advertised hither" and declared that the 
people "groaned under the excessive charge and ex- 
pense for the subsistence of those princes of Austria 
and especially this king of Bohemia," referring to 
Ferdinand. The reply of the king indicated the ten- 
or of James' policy during several disastrous years. 
He signified his "willingness to interpose if he might 
be assured it was a thing hartely desired by the 
kinge of Spayne." September loth and October iSth 
Frederic again addressed James, and complained of the 
danger to both church and state. October 24th, 1618, 
the "Estates of Bohemia sub utraque" again addressed 
James and explained their danger from other people 
and the Jesuits. Frederic again addressed the king 
March II and 13, 1619. James addressed the estates 
March 20tli, 1619 and expressed his anxiety to main- 
tain the cause of religion. Again April 2nd, i6ig, 
the estates addressed the king and signed themselves 
"Professing the Evangelical Reformed Religion," 
placing the entire cause of the trouble on the assauUs 
made against their religious freedom. Again May 
15th they wrote and signed under the same style. Al- 
though James did not as yet fight, he certainly con- 
tributed money freely. During those two years the 
king spent ^200,000 to aid Bohemia in various ways 
"to preserve the Palatinate." 

During the debate the general sentiment was 
tersely expressed by Sir John Davys; " — All men 
run together to quench a fire, which is our 
case. Though we are not so here; yet the Pala- 
tinate is on fire; religion is - on fire; and all 
other countries on fire." The king also dispatched 
Lord Digby to the powers with propositions and 
money. By Albertus Morton's hands it appears that 



588 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

30,000 pounds were sent to the princes of the union to 
keep them in arms, especially Count Mansfeld. The 
poverty of the king from 1614 to 1620 not only com- 
pelled him to convoke his parliament but rendered 
him a borrower abroad. To aid his son-in-law James 
received a loan of ^75,000 from the king of Denmark, 
which he repaid with ^100,000, obtained through the 
readiness of the nation to help the Bohemians effect- 
ively. In aid of the gallant Mansfeld Sir Horace Vere 
equipped and led 5,000 men and served with great 
zeal during the years i6ig, 1620. Sir Horace nobly 
assisted by Captain Borough preserved Heidelberg, 
Manheim, Frankendale and Worms. Of these places 
Frankendale had successfully endured a month's siege. 
The king also sent ^40,000 to keep Mansfeld's army 
together, as that commander could only assemble a 
host that must have pay or plunder. All these efforts 
were commended. The spirit of parliament was very 
earnest. "This part of Christendom," said Sir Rob- 
ert Phillips, "never received a greater blow than in 
the loss of Bohemia." "The whole kingdom is then 
ready," said Sir James Perrott, "both with purse and- 
arms to assist the king in the business of the Palati- 
nate; " and the petition and remonstrance of the Com- 
mons declared one of the great mischiefs of the time 
to be "The distressed and miserable estate of the pro- 
fesssors of our religion in foreign parts." All this in- 
dignation prepared the way for Cromwell and his 
iron-sides. It was also well known that in 1618 arch- 
duke Leopold had disarmed all the protestants and 
burned their books; and that protestantism under 
every form had always been stigmatized by the Aus- 
trian ruling family as the vicious cause of sedition, 
insurrection, and treason perpetually. From the stand- 



EMPEROR FERDINAND II. 589 

point of religious, social, intellectual and political free- 
dom for all men the charge is utterly false; from the 
side of t3'rannic.al absolutism, repression of free thought, 
denial of civil liberties, and political slavery the accu- 
sation is splendidly true. At the moment when King 
James sent the sum of ^^30,000 to the union princes 
he also dispatched Sir Edward Villiers to Silesia to 
obtain from Frederic a submission to the emperor, 
"upon such conditions as his majesty should think 
fit." All this paltering with the sternest and most le. 
lentless combination the world had yet seen! 

James employed able men and scholars in these nego- 
tiations. But their efforts were all unavailing in face of 
his own timidity, indefiniteness, and blind deference to 
Spain that despised him. Frederic certainly consulted 
his father-in-law ; but events moved too fast. Although 
James did not venture openly to avow his satisfaction 
at the prospect of his son-in-law's elevation, inasmuch 
as Spain claimed now the reversion of that kingdom, 
yet he secretly rejoiced at it, as his correspondence 
clearly testifies. On the other hand he was able to 
state to parliament subsequently that before he could 
answer the letter his son-in-law "took the crown upon 
him," as appears b}'^ the debates of 1621 while the 
Spanish match was still discussed. At this time and 
for some considerable period afterward, probably until 
Mansfeld's death, King James contributed ^20,000 a 
month to that commander to enable him to keep the 
field. Expenses incurred at this period for these gen- 
eral purposes are set down in his answer to parliament 
as follows: 

Defense of the Palatinate ^17,288 

To the King of Denmark ^30,000 a month. 

" Count Mansfeld ^20,000 " 

" The Low Countries ^^8,000 " 



590 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

In addition to these sums ^16,038 were handed to 
the Spanish ambassador in the form of gifts for his 
good offices; a large sum, ^117,093 was expended for 
ships of war to aid Spain before Algiers, and other 
expenditures on behalf of the king and queen of Bo- 
hemia. This unlucky family cost the English ex- 
chequer ^20,000 a year for several years. James, 
however, was effectively restrained by his parliament, 
as the estates attempted to restrain Ferdinand; and 
Charles I. encouraged by Ferdinand's success in de- 
stroying parliamentary control in Bohemia, struggled 
to secure the same subjugation of the Commons in 
England, by means of precisely the same arguments, 
the same designs, and the same methods. In Eng- 
land Cromwell more than offset Waldstein. Charles 
I. denied and scorned the right of parliament to con- 
trol affairs of state, in almost the identical language 
as that employed by Ferdinand in the memorandum 
before referred to. The parallelism between the lines 
of conduct of the two princes is perfect. The history 
of England during this and the period immediately 
following cannot be understood without a comparison 
with that of Bohemia. While James of England pro- 
crastinated Frederic received active encouragement 
from Maurice, prince of Orange, the duke of Buillon, 
Christian of Anhalt, the majority of the protestant 
league, and Bethlehem Gabor. Consigning his own 
dominions to the duke des Deux Fonts, Frederic has- 
tened with his family to Eger, wherein presence of the 
deputies sent to meet him he confirmed all the privi- 
leges of the nation. The coronation was performed by 
the Calixtine administrator, George Dicastus, speci- 
ally appointed vicar of the archepiscopal see of Prague. 
By the people at large he was welcomed with un- 



EMPEROR FERDINAND II. 591 

bounded enthusiasm, and if ever a prince received 
tokens of regard sufficient to rouse him to valor and 
constancy Frederic received those tokens. Sweden, 
Denmark, Holland, Venice, and man}' German princes 
acknowledged his title. 

The Hungarian protestants rose and called in 
Bethlehem Gabor, This prince captured Cassir, Tier- 
nau, Neckra, Neuhasel ; and dispatched 18,000 men 
to the aid of Thurn. Bucquoi who after the de- 
feat of Mansfeld took Pisek and advanced to Tabor 
was now recalled. Gabor gained Presburg and ad- 
vanced into Austria; and forming a junction with 
Thurn the combined forces amounted to 60,000 men. 
They attacked and defeated Bucquoi and were pre- 
vented from e^itering the capital by the breaking down 
of the bridge. 

Ferdinand returned to see his capital again be- 
sieged, Bucquoi and Dampierre defeated, a Hun- 
garian corps at Haimburg; but these troops were 
defeated by Dampierre and Bucquoi; and Homonai 
with his Cossacks newly levied dispersed a force left 
at Cassau under Ragotsky to cover upper Hungary. 
His communications being thus almost severed, Beth- 
lehem Gabor was compelled to retreat by the severities 
of the season and scarcity of provisions. He took 
Aldenburg and was soon afterward proclaimed king 
of Hungary, and Ferdinand's adherents were expelled. 
All Bohemia except Budweis, and the greater part of 
Hungary were now absolutely in the hands of the 
insurgents. 

During there events Frederic repaired to Nuremberg 
to seek the aid of the protestant union. Ferdinand 
also sent deputies, but his offers were heard with dis- 
dain. Finding the catholic league under arms the 



592 HISruR y OF ^B ORE MI A 

union determined to demand from Maximilian of Ba- 
varia redress of grievances. They exerted them- 
selves to prevent the march of Spanish troops from 
the Netherlands and Alsace and stationed an army at 
Ulm to watch the duke of Bavaria. Ferdinand, with 
the aid of Rome imited the Catholic party, purchased 
the support of Maximilian with the most liberal con- 
cessions, and a promise of the electorate. He also 
received from the pope a grant of a tenth of the ec- 
clesiastical revenues of Spain and Italy and the Neth- 
erlands, and a monthly subsidy of 20,000 zechines in 
cash. To the elector of Sajcony he declared that the 
war was wholly civil and not religious. To France 
the declared with equal emphasis that the war was re- 
ligious and not civil; and he reverted to the case of 
the Huguenots and the assistance they had received 
from the Palatine family. These negotiations were 
backed by the court of Spain. On the other hand 
James I. sent 4,000 men to Holland to release a similar 
number detached by that country in aid of Frederic. 
About two thousand English troops were sent by the 
king to Bohemia in addition to those under De Vere. 

The Spanish court refused to become a prin- 
cipal in the war but gave a subsidy of 1,000,000 flor- 
ins; and a force of 8,000 men. At length Ferdinand's 
minister, KevenhuUer, declared that his master would 
abandon Bohemia to the Palatine, Hungary to Bethle- 
hem Gabor, the Friuli to the Venetians, and would 
unite with the protestants to obtain compensation by 
conquest of the Spanish Netherlands. These threats 
alarmed the weak mind of Philip HI. and by the 
only act of authority of his life he ordered Spinola 
from Holland with 24,000 men including 2,000 
Irish. Ferdinand next concluded a truce with 



EMPEROR FERDINAND II. 593 

Bethlehem Gabor and was wholly released from 
anxiety on that side. Next spring the protestants 
at Ulm, being disappointed of receiving support 
from France, agreed to terms of peace very advan- 
tageous to the emperor, July 3rd, 1620. The Catho- 
lics agreed not to attack the Palatinate; but Bohemia 
was left open to assault by the Spaniards, by the em- 
peror or his allies, except the Catholic league. Here- 
upon the protestants in lower Austria submitted; and 
Ferdinand was enabled to combine his full power 
against Bohemia. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

BOHEMIA PROSTRATED AND CRUSHED, 

With a mock generosity Ferdinand required Fred- 
eric to relinquish his title as king; and issued orders 
to the duke of Bavaria to expel him from Bohemia. 
Dampierre was detached to watch Bethlehem Gabor in 
Hungary; another corps was withdrawn from Poland 
and directed against Silesia, while the elector of Sax- 
ony, now openly leagued with the emperor, reduced 
Lusatia, and prevented all succor from that' quarter. 
While these enemies spread devastation through the 
provinces the duke of Bavaria, was assisted by John 
Tzerclas, afterward count of Tilly, who had already 
distinguished himself in Hungary. Maximilian first 
led 25,000 men into upper Austria and crushed the 
insurgents. Uniting with Bucquoi near Weidhofen 
he commanded a force of 50,000 men. These troops 
he divided into two bodies. With the Germans he 
entered Bohemia on the side of Budweis, while Buc- 
quoi with the Spaniards and Italians reduced Kum- 
mau, Prakatitz, and their forces again effected a junc- 
tion at Pisek. Here the Walloons and Cossacks by a 
sudden escalade gained the ramparts, massacred the 
garrison, and all the inhabitants. No quarter was 
given to any sex or age. This example terrified 
Strakonitz, Winterburg, Schuttenhofen, Klattau and 
other places and they surrendered. Frederic was al- 
ready reduced to sore straits. His Palatinate v/as 

594 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 595 

overrun by Spinola and 20,000 Spaniards. He only 
possessed 8,000 Hungarian horse, a small corps under 
Hohenlohe, and Mansfeld's levies who maintaiqed 
themselves largely by plunder. The hopes of many 
of Frederic's adherents melted away; and his emp- 
tiness of character had already exhibited itself by 
great imprudence. By his first acts he had alienated 
the Bohemians by his introduction of the French lan- 
guage and customs into his court. The indiscretions 
of his chaplain, Scultetus, increased the dislike of the 
people. The chaplain yielding to the strong Calvin- 
istic sentiments he held denounced the Utraquists and 
Lutherans from the pulpit. The remaining ornaments 
of the churches, the altars, images, bells, crucifixes 
pictures were torn down. An attempt to demolish a 
great stone crucifix on the bridge over the Moldau 
created a riot with difficulty quieted by the efforts of 
Count Thurn. These acts, as irritating as they were 
impolitic, cooled all enthusiasm in favor of the new 
king. By special favor Frederic promoted counts An- 
halt and Hohenlohe to the command of his troops, 
displacing and in fact degrading Thurn and Mansfeld, 
who had given him his crown. Mansfeld receiving a 
gross personal insult from Hohenlohe retired in dis- 
gust and withdrew his contingent, the very flower of 
the royal army, to Pilsen. Frederic conducted balls 
and pageants in honor of his elevation. At length 
the impending peril, and the failure of the burghers 
to raise a supply of money compelled the king to re- 
pair to the camp of his main army under Anhalt at 
Pritznitz. This force did not exceed 20,000 men, 
was without pay, enthusiasm, confidence or disci- 
pline. The generals differed in opinion, and there was 
no general. 



596 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Here Frederic's weakness disclosed itself in an 
offer of an accommodation. The duke of Bavaria 
knew the advantages he held and refused all negotia- 
tion until the elector had relinquished the crown. 
Anhalt was forced back rapidly to Rockytzan, Rakon- 
itz and Annhost. The troops became disorderly and 
committed unbounded excesses. They also denounced 
their foreign generals, whom they accused of betraying 
them. In this condition the disorganized army took 
post on the White Mountain near Prague, and com- 
menced to throw up entrenchments. The duke of Ba- 
varia did not allow them time to prepare for their de- 
fense, which if they had had a general would have 
been already complete. Maximilian reached his ene- 
mies on the morning of the 8th of November, 1620, and 
ere noon had reconnoitered the position and made 
disposition for th-e attack. 

Between twelve and one o'clock of the 8th of No- 
vember the imperialist troops advanced to the assault. 
They rushed forward with loud shouts and uproar, 
and assailed the Bohemian army, about twenty thou- 
sand strong, from two directions. The prince of Anhalt 
discharged his artillery simultaneously; but the pieces 
were aimed too high and the shot passed over the 
heads of the enemy. Not a man fell. Then the close 
combat began. On both sides it was fierce and stub- 
born for some time; and advantage inclined to one 
contestant and to the other. By a fierce charge the 
imperialists on the right wing took some guns. Here 
the young prince of Anhalt supported by young Count 
Thurn and John Budna the elder, charged with so 
much vigor that they broke through the assailants, 
passed over heaps of dead and seized the command- 
er's battle flag. On the left wing, Bornemissa in com- 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 597 

mand of eight thousand Hungarians was assailed by 
Poles and Cossacks. These were repulsed with slaugh- 
ter and the Hungarians pursued them. The battle at 
this point inclined to Bohemia. Bucquoi, still in the 
saddle, notwithstanding his wound, ordered up a large 
body of cavalry in support of his retreating troops, as 
they broke before the prince of Anhalt's charge. At 
this point the fight was stubbornly renewed and neither 
side would yield. The prince fell wounded from 
his charger, and nearly became a prisoner. The 
greatly superior numbers of the imperialists slowly 
gained the advantage. Again the Hungarians charged 
and broke their opponents ranks; but Maximilian and 
Lichtenstein hastened forward with a large body of 
fresh troops, and the Hungarians in turn were forced 
back in some disorder. Anhalt ordered the Hohen- 
lohe cavalry to their support; but these troops speedily 
gave way. The Hungarians under Bornemissa still 
fought; but being assailed on both flanks and unsup- 
ported at length gave way with broken ranks. They 
retired to the valley by Motol, reached the Moldau, 
and attempted to reach the opposite bank. The greater 
number sank in the stream exhausted as they were, 
and according to their habits overloaded with booty. 
The infantry thus exposed on all sides retreated in 
disorder; but the Moravians still stood undaunted, 
disdaining to leave the field. Firmly they held their 
ground under the younger Count Thurn and Henry 
Schlick. Against these heroes now was the full force 
of the imperialists directed. Most gallantly they 
fought and for the most part were slain as they stood. 
Count Schlick and some other officers were made pris- 
oners by the Waldstein heavy armed cavalry. The 
entire Bohemian entrenchments were stormed. Six 



59B HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

thousand dead including young Count Schlick and 
other knights testified to the gallantry of the resist- 
ance. Young prince of Anhalt, Count Henry Schlick, 
Styrum Rhinegraf and the duke of Saxe Weimar were 
made prisoners. The elder prince of Anhalt retired 
with his force to Prague. Of the imperialist field 
officers Count Meggan, Karattaus, Rechbergen and 
Petersen and twelve other officers lay dead. Count 
Gottfried of Pappenheim was found wounded amid a 
heap of slain. 

At the opening of the battle Andreas of Habernfeld 
had been dispatched to Frederic requesting his pres- 
ence with his army. But he sat at dinner with the 
English ambassadors and some ladies. After repeated 
requests the king rode out to the Strahov gate. Here 
he stood on the ramparts and viewed the utter ruin of 
his army. A sad sight for him and his friends ! He 
ordered the gate to be opened and the fugitives admit- 
ted into the city. He returned at once to the palace, 
apparently without a thought of making defense. 

By this calamitous defeat on the White Mountain, the 
purposes of the insurgents, were utterly frustrated, and 
the right of the nation to elect its own king was lost 
perhaps forever. The cause of this disaster must be 
referred to the jealousies prevalent among Bohemians. 
They would not elect a patriot of their own nation, 
although abundant proof existed of the wisdom of 
such a choice; and the sentimentalism then very prev 
alent among the reformers placed in foremost rank a 
prince wholly unfitted for the stern leadership of a 
nation struggling against the combined force of abso- 
lutist and religious fury. 

No entreaties or expostulations could prevail on 
Frederic to defend his capital. The citizens eagerly 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 599 

declared they were strong enough to resist until fa- 
vorable terms could be obtained. He asked for a 
truce of twenty-four hours to enable him to retire in 
safety. Maximilian granted but eight. The city was 
filled with troops who had retreated from the White 
Mountain through want of a supreme commander. 
Mansfeld still held the field. Tabor, Pilsen and 
Falkenau successfidly resisted. The duke of Anhalt 
urged Frederic to retire at once. Their chief inter- 
ests lay elsewhere. Frederic abandoned all his bag- 
gage, crown and the archives of the kingdom in the 
market place of the old town of Prague and fled with 
his wife and children to Breslau. Anhalt, Hohen- 
lohe, the elder Thurn, Bohuslav Berka, Ranpova, 
John of Bubna and several others accompanied his 
flight. Bohemia fell through want of a leader to con- 
centrate her gallantry as of old. The citizens thus 
abandoned sent messengers to Maximilian and Buc- 
quoi requesting them to take possession of the city, 
and maintain order. The Walloons had already seized 
the rampartS; and commenced indiscriminate plunder. 
By the Strahov gate Maximilian, Bucquoi, Tilly, 
Colonel Wallenstein and other officers entered about 
midday of November gth, and seized the Hradschin. 
William of Lobkovitz and five other Bohemian lords 
waited on Maximilian and besought forgiveness for 
their insurrection, the security of their liberties and 
the exercise of their religion, and a prohibition of 
plundering. Maximilian replied mildly. To prevent 
plundering within the prohibited period was indeed in 
his power, and he would endeavor to arrest it; as to 
the other points he had no instructions of any kind. 
He suggested to them to submit to the emperor with- 
out reserve. Forthwith ambassadors were dispatched 



6oo HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

from tne old and new town, to ask in the name of the 
citizens for three days wherein conditions might be 
arranged. The reply refused even three hours and 
they were cautioned to submit unconditionally. They 
obeyed and even surrendered their arms to the duke. 
On the third day all the Bohemian lords and knights 
in Prague appeared before the duke, acknowledged 
their offense openly, renounced their treaties with Mo- 
ravia, Silesia, Lusatia and Hungarj'^, and deposited 
the documents with the duke. They swore to acknowl- 
edge only Ferdinand for their king and entreated Max- 
imilian to intercede for them. The duke promised his 
best offices; but notwithstanding these promises and 
engagements six hundred houses in the city were at 
once violently pillaged. The cit}^ observed order and 
quiet. The larger part of the garrison was withdrawn 
and placed under Tilly's command. For the present 
Ferdinand and his advisers restrained their hands. 
Negotiations were still pending with England for the 
safety of the fugitive king and the Palatinate. Two 
thousand four hundred English troops still occupied a 
strong position near Prague, although they had not 
raised a hand during the recent battle. James I. 
of England would not commit himself so far. 

They were present in honor of the king of England's 
son-in-law, but not as soldiers of the king of Bohemia. 
A very strong feeling arose in England, and the em- 
peror grew cautious and deci;itful. He must first re- 
lease himself from English complications. But the 
English troops soon withdrew. Frederic personally 
was not worth molestation, and with his favorites, 
Hohenlohe and Anhalt, were consigned to contempt 
and obscurity. Probably no three other men ever cost 
a nation so dear. Bohemia approached utter extinc- 



BOHEMIA FROSTRAl^ED, CRUSH ED 60 1 

tion as a nation; and the process by which this ex- 
tinction was accomplished, unparalleled in the annals 
of the world, deserves deliberate consideration from 
all thoughtful persons. When Ferdinand was shown 
the original document of the Lettre de Majeste he 
said contemptuously, "And this is the scrawl that has 
caused all this mischief!" He then cut off the seal 
with a penknife; and running the knife through the 
parchment he cut it into scraps and threw them into 
the fire. 

Carl von Lichtenstein was appointed stattholder of 
the kingdom. The troops in garrison at Prague con- 
sisted of Spaniards and Netherlanders, chiefly Wal- 
loons. The citizens at once became the helpless ob- 
jects of the ruffianly insults of these miscreants. Her- 
etic, heretic became the constant epithet and it was 
hurled at all indiscriminately. At the instigation of. 
the Jesuits the mercenaries instituted most rigorous 
search for books in every household and in every pub- 
lic insitution. Bohemian books and treatises of every 
description were ruthlessly torn from their owners, 
piled in heaps in the public square and burned in 
thousands at a time. Nothing was spared; and the 
tome of yesterday, illuininated, bound, and ornamented, 
together with the reprint of the ancient chronicle of 
Dalemil just issued, fell alike into the devouring flame 
in the open street. The literature of the city accu 
mulated during sixty years was utterly annihilated. 

From the hour when the gates of Prague were re- 
opened, November 10, 1620, a long train of ecclesias- 
tics, canons, abbes, mendicant friars, issuing from 
their retreats advanced to meet the conqueror with 
hymns of joy. With urgent importunity they de- 
manded restoration of all they had once controlled. 



6o2 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Some without the formality of a demand seized what- 
ever they selected, and none could resist. These per- 
sons suddenly enriched also by lavish gifts torn from 
the citizens by commanding generals seemed to rise 
out of the earth and multiply by a miracle. Utter 
terror and confusion reigned among the protestant pop- 
ulation. Lichtenstein turned a deaf ear to their sup- 
plications. Yet it was necessary to temporize. Dan- 
gerous combinations might arise; and a large portion 
of the country remained unsubdued. Mansfeld was 
strong and Hungary menacing. A general assault on 
life and property was not yet ordered. Sorhe persons 
charged with high treason were indeed arrested; but 
religion as such was not yet assailed. 

December 7th, 1620, the Jesuits were again re- 
stored to all their possessions formally remitted 
to the father provincial, Valentine Coronius. Jan- 
uary 2gth following, the chief church in Prague 
was also made over to them. February 28th, the 
cathedral was solemnly purified and restored to 
the Catholic rite in presence of the stattholder. The 
bones of the preachers and nobles interred there were 
dug up and thrown out; and replaced by some hairs 
of the Virgin, a portion of the burning bush, Christ's 
napkin, and one of the cobble stones which had slain 
St. Stephen. All persons who had purchased any 
portion of the church property were not only com- 
pelled to restore, but pay for its use. 

During these proceedings Cardinal Carafa arrived 
at Vienna as special legate from Rome to hasten the 
proceedings. Even Ferdinand seemed lukewarm to 
this prelate. The cardinal in his "Relatione" has 
furnished a very authoritative statement of the pro- 
gress of events. Himself suggested and superintended 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED; CRUSHED 603 

the measures he relates. Ferdinand was consumed 
by the one absorbing passion — to extinguish from the 
empire every trace of opposition to the Catholic church. 
For this purpose oaths, obligations and considerations 
of humanity or economic policy were totally disre- 
garded. He accepted any ferocity and extreme brutal- 
ity to accomplish his purpose. The immediate ob- 
ject of Carafa was the extirpation of all but Catholic 
ideas from the university and all schools and litera- 
ture in Bohemia. The conscience of the emperor was 
dominated by Lamormain, the Jesuit whom he abjectly 
obeyed without hesitation and without even the exer- 
cise of reason. 

Bucquoi notwithstanding his wound marched against 
Carlstein, where a garrison of six hundred Englishmen 
had been posted. At the sight of the enemy they at 
once surrendered the place, and departed. Quiet 
reigned in Prague, and Lichtenstein restored the 
Jesuits to more than all their former power. The 
expelled prelates also returned, and their wrath long 
concentrated could now be poured out without hin- 
drance or remonstrance, and it was. In all the country 
districts the reign of plunder ran in unrestrained riot. 
Cossacks and Tartars, discharged without pay after 
the victory of the White Mountain were turned loose 
on the country. Hordes of them wandered and devas- 
tated at will. The}' had been purposely sent adrift 
destitute and desperate. They had no path or line of 
march. They sacked and pillaged and slaughtered 
and rufifianized with thorough Tartar and Cossack effect- 
iveness. Such was indeed the system of the epoch; 
the province supported the war. The districts of 
Koniggratz, Chrudim, Czaslau were so ruthlessly tor- 
tured by these wretches that utter desolation of the 



6o4 BIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

open country resulted. Thousands of families took 
refuge in marshes and caves from this devastating 
horde. The greater portion of these miserable fugi- 
tives perished from want and exposure. Moravia 
suffered a similar infliction. Yet only a portion of 
Bohemia, was thus wasted. The other portions sue 
cessively took their turn. Mansfeld still held Tabor, 
Pilsen, Ulbogen and some castles. Both armies nec- 
essarily maintained themselves from the districts 
where they were stationed. Bucquoi with the greater 
portion of his army marched into Hungary; and on his 
way, with contemptible vindictiveness utterly destroyed 
the tomb of John Ziska at Czaslau. 

During this interval the citizens of Prague had re 
sumed as well as possible their ordinary vocations. 
All was still. Ferdinand's council had matured their 
plans, and allowed the mind of the city to lapse into 
a sense of calm. Orders were now issued for the close 
arrest of all persjns who had participated in the late 
emeute. Tilly had warned all these persons to quit 
the city and escape to a place of safety. The notice 
was of one day. They trusted to Maximilian's prom- 
ise and heeded not the warning. The following night 
all were arrested and imprisoned. Count Schlick had 
escaped to Saxony but was basely arrested and sent 
back to Prague through the efforts of Doctor Hoe, a 
prominent Lutheran preacher. The number of emi- 
nent persons now arrested amounted to forty-eight. 
They were of the most exalted station in the king- 
dom. By an order issued at the same time all pro- 
fessors in the Carolinum, parish ministers, school mas- 
ters, whether Calvinists, Beghards or Bohemian breth- 
ren were peremptorily banished from the kingdom 
within three days. 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 605 

Mansfeld still commanded in the west nominally 
as the general of the banished Frederic. Thither now 
the war extended. Mansfeld seized several towns and 
the dukes of Bavaria and . Saxony were summoned to 
march against him. A price — six hundred thousand 
crowns, was set upon his head. The .Saxons com- 
pelled large contributions from every city, and the 
entire kingdom was gradually overcome. Orders were 
next issued to Lichtenstein for the condemnation and 
punishment of the prisoners. Every separate act dur- 
ing the last three years was recalled against individ- 
uals. The commissioners ejected from the window 
became especially clamorous for revenge. June 21st, 
1621, was the fatal day fixed for the execution of the 
sentence. Strong bodies of troops took possession of 
the city as the day of doom approached. Coldly, 
slowly, the impending extermination was resolved on 
and begun. The first forty-eight victims comprised 
all the qualities that men admire and revere, — venera- 
ble age, science, nobility of soul as well as birth, elo- 
quence, a holy life. Not one of the martyrs failed or 
weakened; but even in their last moments, priests 
known to be unwelcome obtruded their rejected ser- 
vices. On the morning of June 20th, the death war- 
rant was read to the condemned, and they were noti- 
fied to prepare for death. The emperor's proffered 
pardon was pleaded; but the cold reply excepted cer- 
tain victims. "Besides," the answer said, "heretics 
do not^ deserve that any man should k ep his word 
with them." The spirit that controlled these execu- 
tions is demonstrated in the case of the celebrated 
orator and philosopher, John of Jessen, who had been 
ambassador of Bohemia to Hungary. The sentence 
is thus literally expressed. "The doctor Jessenius, 



6o6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

rector of the Academy of Prague, while living shall 
have his tongue cut out, his body divided into quar- 
ters, his limbs hung at the cross roads; his head and 
his tongue shall be thrown into a sewer. Neverthe- 
less the emperor of his inexhaustible grace deigns to 
commute this sentence as follows : — "The tongue shall 
be first cut off, then the head, and afterward the bod}' 
shall be quartered; the limbs shall be fastened to gib- 
bets raised at the cross roads, and the head with the 
tongue shall be hung up over the bridge." 

Jesuits and capuchins intruded into the very cells 
of the victims, although they had not been invited, 
and were not listened to. 

At day break the condemned having dressed in fresh 
raiment prepared as for a banquet. 

During their prayer together the castle gun thun- 
dered the hour for execution. Each as he went forth 
blessed the others and was blessed in turn; and all 
comforted each other with the confidences of devout 
christians. 

Thefirst martyr led forth was Joachim Andrd Slik, 
count of Bazan, lord of Holiz, Loket and Svijany. 
His age exceeded fifty. His countenance noble and 
manly. It was he who being interrogated under tor- 
ture tore open his raiment and exclaimed; — "Tear this 
body into a thousand morsels, look at the vitals atten- 
tively, and you will find there nothing but the love of 
liberty and of the faith. It was not ambition that 
urged us. We have taken arms only to defend our 
religion that was dishonored, our constitution violated, 
our national independence trampled under foot. Fred- 
eric has been vanquished. Ferdinand has gained the 
victory; but the issue of the war has not improved 
his cause, nor rendered that of Bohemia less just. 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 607 

God has delivered us into your hands. May his will 
be fulfilled. Blessed be his name." Having descended 
the stairway two Jesuits accosted him. He replied, 
' Leave me in peace." Seeing the sunlight he ex- 
claimed, "One day men shall see the sunrise of justice 
that shall dissipate the darkness of this world." After 
a short pra5^er on the scaffold, with a serene counte- 
nance that brought tears to the eyes even of his en- 
emies he knelt at the block. His head was severed 
from his body and then his right hand. 

The next victim was Wenzel of Budova. Being 
asked why having been in safety he again thrust him- 
self into danger, he replied, "My conscience would not 
permit me to abandon my country and its holy cause." 
Already condemned he said to the judges, "You have 
thirsted for our blood so many years, that I do not 
wish to prevent you from quenching your thirst. I 
prefer to die than to see my country die. Malo mori 
quam patriam videre mori." 

Intruded upon by the Jesuits in his cell he replied 
from the scripture, wherein he exibited much greater 
proficiency than his tormentors. Then showing them 
to the door he said, "Asses that you are, you wish to 
teach others that which you do not know yourselves. 
I know you are the servants of that Babylon that turns 
its open throat toward me and my good companions. 
Go back whence you came." Adyancing to the scaffold 
he passed his hand through his hair and beard now 
snow white and said, "See, white hair, the honor they 
prepare for you. They are going to crown you with 
the crown of martyrdom." Advancing with dignity 
and calmness he bowed to the fatal stroke Next came 
Christopher Heraut of Bezdrazic and of Polecic. Call- 
ing to him pastor Rosacius, who has transmitted ade- 



6o8 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tailed statement of these scenes, he commended to him 
the care of his wife, whom he believed to be wavering 
in the faith. This lady under the influence of the 
Jesuits aided to multiply the tortures of Bohemians. 

Next advanced the venerable Kaspar Kaplir of 
Sulevic, a veteran of eighty six. Being informed 
that he might save his life by asking for pardon he 
declined the deceitful request. "Only from God do 
1 seek grace," he said. "I can no longer walk with- 
out the aid of some person or by the help of crutches. 
Who knows if 1 should be better prepared at a later 
moment. Let my old head fall with the others. " With 
similar constancy, dignity, and serenity advanced and 
died in succession Dvorcechey Prokop of Olbramovic, 
Andre Otto Losu, Bohuslav of Michalovic, Tobias 
Steffek of Polodey, Doctor John Jessenius who de- 
clared, "It is in vain that Ferdinand gluts his rage 
for blood; a king elected by us shall again ascend 
the throne of Bohemia," Christopher Kobr and the 
other martyrs to the number of forty-eight. Nine 
dreadful hours were consumed in these butcheries. 
"Not content with the blood of the martyrs," writes 
Comensky in relating these scenes of carnage, "our 
enemies have continued their sanguinary assemblies 
in order to discover in what manner they could com- 
pletely annihilate our nation." 

While these executions and those that followed 
through the country had been instigated by Carafa and 
Laniormain, on behalf of the ecclesiastics an attempt 
was made to clothe them with a political apearance. 
The same edict which pronounced the dea'h of the 
nobles also abolished the Majsstat's brief of 1609. 
Count Adam of Waldstein, landhofmeister of the 
kingdom, ostentatiously presented to the king the 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 609 

original document, which although never enrolled had 
been carefully preserved. Ferdinand is said by one 
authority to have viewed the document in silence, but 
to have then said aloud: — "See then the scrawls that 
have caused my predecessors so much trouble." Then 
taking a pair of scissors he cut the document into frag 
ments and threw them into the fire, as before narrated. 
The storm of persecution spread widely. All Cal- 
vinists, all who had prayed for the pretended king 
Frederic, and all who had taken any part in the delib- 
erations of the condemned were forthwith banished. 
Real estate must be sold — where allowed — within three 
months. Under this decree thousands of families were 
exiled in poverty and distress. More than three-fourths 
of Bohemia were included in this sweeping proscrip- 
tion. Commissioners suppotted by Lichtenstein's 
dragoons traversed the country and left not a house 
unvisited. Lichtenstein is credited with an attempt 
to moderate the excessive harshness of this measure by 
representing the still latent danger of insurrection 
arising from despair. Carafa and Lamormain at Vien- 
na procured peremptory orders for instant obedience. 
Towards autumn the political situation changed. Mans- 
feld retired from the upper Palatinate and Bethlehem 
Gabor withdrew from his attempt on Hungary. The 
frontiers were clear. The regiments thus disengaged 
were concentrated at Prague. In December the de- 
cree of banishment was enforced to the utmost. All 
persons who had been in an}'^ rnanner concerned in 
the rebellion were ordered to quit the kingdom. The 
administrator of the Consistory — George Dicastus was 
cited before the council and received the following 
propositions to present to his colleagues: I. To con- 
tribute a very large sum for the pay of the troops. 



6 1 o HI ST OR Y OF B OHEMIA 

II. To disavow the coronation of Frederic III. 
To restore the former ecclesiastical establishments. 

IV. To be re-ordained by the archbishop of Prague. 

V. To repudiate their wives or at least to receive a 
dispensation. If any of them desired to abandon the 
position of an ecclesiastic, and be converted, he was 
promised civil employment. These terms were indig- 
nantly rejected. More than forty exiles, Calvinists 
and Lutherans, were expelled. Adam of Waldstein, 
appealed to by the elector of Saxony, replied that 
Prince Lichtenstein had promised all persons of the 
confession of Augsburg that they had nothing to fear. 
In fact two Lutheran churches still remained unclosed 
from motives of present policy. Ferdinand sought the 
electoral dignity and he would not totally alienate the 
elector of Saxony. But the sword hung by a slender 
thread. A general amnesty next appealed to the ter- 
rors of the people on condition of absolute recanta- 
tion. For some mysterious reason two preachers were 
exhorted to administer the sacrament at Easter under 
both kinds. More than a thousand persons dared re- 
ceive it. Instantly the "scandal" became a subject 
of severe remonstrance from Carafa. The chief fam- 
ilies of Hungary were still protestant and that country 
must also be duped for the present. Carafa's motive 
was stimulated by the fact that all the religious peo- 
ple in Prague devoted themselves to the few preach- 
ers that remained, and the Roman priests were neg- 
lected. During this year, 1622, Ferdinand made a 
pilgrimage to Mariazell in Styria. Here he renewed 
his vow to exterminate heresy. The edict expelling 
the remaining preachers was issued October 24th, now 
that reasons for further casuistical dissimulation no 
longer existed. The retiring pastors were accompanied 



BOHEMIA PROSTRATED, CRUSHED 6ii 

by a crowd of their friends; and at "the_ field of tears, " 
near Prague, addressed an earnest exhortation to them 
to be faithful. 

The conference at Ratisbon convoked by Ferdinand 
at this time was by no means a regular Diet of the 
empire. It consisted solely of the electors and a few 
Lutherans devoted to Ferdinand's policy, with some 
princes of the league. The emperor merely tempor- 
ized again before the remonstrances of John George of 
Saxony. He was known to entertain the most hostile 
designs against the protestants of Silesia, who chiefly 
controlled the country. He was only prevented from 
extirminating them also by want of time. But his 
conduct was registered in the memory of the province; 
and one hundred and fifty years later the enemies of 
Austria smote its legions by the hand of Frederic H. 
aided powerfully throughout by the active sympathies 
of the protestant population. The two Lusatias also 
had been marked for slaughter; but they had been 
pledged to the elector of Saxony for seven millions as 
the price of his aid against Frederic V. and eventu- 
ally they remained Saxon. All the fury of the de- 
stroyers became concentrated against Bohemia. 

Toward the close of the conference the adhesion of 
Saxony became of less importance in consequence of 
the agreement between the emperor, Spain, the three 
ecclesiastical electors and the pope. Thus by the first 
great act in this drama the legal existence of protest- 
antism became extinguished in Bohemia; and there 
remained only the drastic measures to subdue the in- 
dividual minds of the population. To this noble end 
the emperor of Germany now addressed his thoughts, 
his confessors, and his dragoons ! 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CARNIVAL OF DEVASTATION AND CRUELTY IN BOHEMIA. 

Ferdinand prepared for his coronation and journeyed 
to Prague for that purpose.* He was preceded by Car- 
afa; and the cardinal must journey far in the country 
before encountering a single co-religionist. The peas- 
ants regarded his cortege with wonder. Solitary priests 
without flocks presented themselves. A venerable 
Carmelite of ninety years declared that for "three 
score 5^ears and ten no representative of the holy see 
had visited that region. "f The cardinal encountered 
"only churches sacked, towns burned, villages reduced 
to heaps of ruins. "| He passed the White Mountain 
and the sight caused tears of joy. Already the victors 
quarreled bitterly. over the spoils. § ^All the orders 
of monks received rich endowment at once. The Car- 
olinum fell to the Jesuits and the control of all print- 
ing in the country was committed to them.** Ver}' 
great difficulty was experienced in providing profes- 
sors or teachers and for years chair and schools re- 
mained vacant. §§ Even the Catholic priests who had 

* Up to this time Ferdinand was only King by nomination not 
king in fact or in right. 

f Carafa Commentaria, p 154. 

X Carafa Commentaria, p. 155. 

§ Historia Persecutionum, Comensky Ch. 52 §§ 3, 4. 

** Ranke iii. p. 408. Ferdinand frequently expressed regret at not 
being able to enter their order. Lamormain, p. 240, 241. 

§§ Ferdinand twice made the pilgrimage to the Shrine of our 
Lady of Brandeis, and in every place strove to re-establish the worship 

G12 



DE VAST A TION AND CR UEL TV 613 

remained in the country had joined the reformers. 
These men fell under Carafa's especial vituperation. 
"They were," he said, "without religious knowledge, 
even of the rites and ceremonies; they lived in open 
sin and caused great scandal-"* The}' had been good 
enough to be entrusted with catholic parishes. The 
learning, the scholarship, the intellectual brilliancy, 
the literary taste, and the educational earnestness of 
the kingdom had been obliterated. There remained 
only a broken population of burghers and peasantry; 
and the fiery trial fell on them. The Bohemian tongue 
was forbidden in all religious observances; music took 
its place. The utraquist symbols were destroyed uni- 
versally; and even the chalices set over the town 
clocks were broken to fragments. f Every utraquist 
church whose tower had received this symbol was de- 
stroyed. Exorcisms expelled the demons from church 
furniture, chairs were beaten with rods, and chancels 
purified with gunpowder. The great chalice erected 
by Podebrad in 1462 over the Teyn church was thrown 
down by the Jesuit George Plachy and his piipils;| 
the statue of the king replaced by that of the virgin; 
and Ferdinand crushing the heretics appeared formally 
in marble. At Gratz the cup was replaced by a cibor- 
ium, and underneath was represented an inverted chal- 
ice whence a liquid flowed with the inscription "Ebi- 
berunt et faeces. "§ The statues of Hus and Jerome 

of the Holy Virgin ' 'whom he named the generallissimo of his armies. " 
Lamormain, Virtutes Ferdinandi, p. 80. 

* Carafa Relatione, p 138. His words are "Vivendo in publici 
peccati, erano al rozzo popolo di piu scandolo, che li stessi ministri 
heretici " 

f Carafa Relatione, p. 15c. 

If. Pelzel, Bcemische Gelehrte, p. 16. 

§ Historia Persecutionum, Ch- 105 § 3. 



6i4 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

were burned and another patron saint substituted.* 
Even the dead were not spared. The ashes of John 
Ziska respected by Cossacks were scattered byCarafa, 
and the remains of Rokyzan flung abroad. The monks 
of Horaz-dowitz broke with iron bars the bones of 
those buried around their convent, and burned them. 
The cemetery of St. Egidius was turned into a bowl- 
ing ground. f The intellectual tendencies which al- 
ways in part precede and in part succeed the spread 
of protestantism were felt throughout the entire popu- 
lation of Bohemia, now alas reduced to a profound ig- 
norance. In every house a Bible in Bohemian and some 
books of devotion were always present. It was neces- 
sary to eradicate all this. Missionaries accompanied 
by dragoons traversed the country. Not a house escaped. 
The inhabitants were summoned by church bell to 
assemble and bring with them all books. This order 
obeyed — the domiciliary inquisition took place; and 
woe to the wretched peasant who had concealed a 
family Bible or a book of psalms. The inquisitors 

always drew the children aside and with sweet words 

... . ' 

induced their innocence to disclose the hiding place. 

The guilty were punished by five weeks in prison or 

a hundred crowns fine, and the secular power was 

then and there present to enforce the sentence. | When 

all the books possible had been collected, a public 

pyre was erected of the favorite treasures; and while 

the flame devoured the pages the monks indulged in 

pleasantries on the similar fate awaiting obstinate 

heretics. § In the convents and monasteries the 

* Hist. Pers. abovs cited. 

\ G. Hojyk p. 125, cited by Peschek ii, p 18. 

% Histor. Persec. Ch. 118, § 3. 

g Holyk, cited by Peschek iii, p. 98. Holyk was an eye witness 
of the scenes he narrates, and was long in the hands of the Jesuits, 
but escaped to Saxony. 



DE VASTA TION AND CR UEL TY 615 

splendid manuscripts of the past were devoted to the 
meanest uses. This spirit and practice of destruction 
of literature in Bohemia did not cease for more than 
two centuries; and one Jesuit, A. Konias, boasted that 
he had burned with liis own ' hand more than sixty 
thousand volumes. Konias born in 1691 died in 1760. 
He wrote an index of pernicious books, which was 
itself proscribed lest it might point out forbidden 
works to enquiring minds. As the intention was to 
destroy a nationality as well as a creed, all Bohemian 
books without distinction were remorselessly com- 
mitted to the pyre. 

Not satisfied with these measures all heretics were 
ordered to be expelled from public employment of 
every kind. For this purpose a military commander 
was appointed to assist every curd, and also a burgo- 
master, a judge and a receiver of Catholics. Clergy, 
justice, fisc, and force henceforth operated in concert 
in the ceaseless struggle to subdue heresy by main 
force. Wholesale proscription and exile had been pro- 
posed. But this expedient threatened to deprive the 
emperor and the church of the opportunity of restoring 
the wanderers. Count Paul Michna, pupil of the 
Jesuits, and son of a butcher, advised the council to 
deprive heretics of all their goods so that the kingdom 
should not be impoverished, and the fugitives should 
not live luxuriously in exile. Hence a system of ex- 
orbitant taxes and contributions was advised, and 
this tax fell solely on the petty nobility and reformed 
bourgeoisie. If the required exactions were not forth- 
coming soldier adventurers were lodged on the offend- 
ers. Conversion in such cases by no means saved the 
converted. Complaints always received the response 
that they ought to be too thankful to escape with 



6i6 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

life.* To crown the infamous cruelty of these extor- 
tions Ferdinand deliberately adopted a device subse- 
quentl}' attempted by James II. of England and others. 
Coin debased to the uttermost, and of a nominal de- 
gree of debasement constantly fluctuating was issued 
in profusion. Thus all business values were destroyed 
at one stroke. This infamous system, continued from 
1622 to 1624, effected more of the ruin of the country 
than ten years of war contributions, "■f Bohemia had al- 
ways been rich in silver; and her splendid coinage in 
chief measure formed the foundation of her prosper- 
ity. To these infamous methods of spoliation was 
now added another — mockery and insult. The re- 
straints hitherto self-imposed on this point were now 
all cast aside. The most offensive epithets, the most 
slanderous gibes were constantly flung at the non- 
catholic population. All this persecution sustained 
by mercenary soldiery hired from everywhere became 

* Histor. Persec. Ch 46, § 5. 

f The evil effects of this ruinous practice were perfectly under- 
stood in that day. Thus Stransky one of the exiles of that period, 
writes "For although the years, 3621, 1622 1623 were not unproduc- 
tive, yet our affairs became tenfold more afflicting than previously. 
During three whole years flowed in upon us the scourge of debased 
money; and then at last from experience we believed what had been 
with equal truth and wisdom, declared by Boleslas Leni, a prince of 
our nation on his death bed; — 'neither pestilence, nor war, nor hostile 
incursions into the provinces, devastation, however atrocious can in- 
jure prosperity so grievously, as frequent changes and debasement of 
money. This description of imposition reduces the ordinary popula- 
tion to extreme poverty.' The name and image of those who have 
struck bad money ought to bear a red stain not only in the present 
age but for all future time The discovery of this fraud produced 
consternation everywhere." Bohemia had conducted extensive trade 
with neighboring nations and her money, silver and gold, had always 
been good. The present villainous debasement, intentionally 

threatened, and in fact accomplished, total ruin to ail business. See 
Hist. Perse. Ch. 47, § i. On the evils of bad money during this 
period by the "Kipper und Wipper," and by debasement see Histor- 
ische Zeitschrift of Sybel, i856. 



DE VAST A TION AND CR UEL TY 617 

a hopeless torture through the emperor's success in 
Germany. The victims reasoned that expatriation 
was useless, as the same secular and spiritual arm 
confronted them everywhere. These impressions were 
necessarily encouraged by the Catholic priests, and 
every convert became at once an agent with his form- 
er co-religionists, in order to support his consistency 
and calm his conscience, by inducing others to join 
him in his defection. His sense of shame became 
diluted as it was distributed over a greater number. 
This procedure was systematized. Mixed commis- 
sions composed of Dominicans and Jesuits were or- 
ganized. To these were added jurisconsults and some 
Catholics or converts. These commissions traversed 
the circles of the kingdom. Arrived at a village or 
town the commissioners invited the principal inhab- 
itants before them and explained the advantages of 
becoming Catholics. If any replied that he was not 
versed in Catholic church doctrines he was in- 
vited to be instructed. Consent was fatal. Daily 
urgency was forced on him. He was not out of 
sight a moment, and reiterated visitations were 
imposed on him. Some refused these terms after 
they had disposed of their property. But flight 
was difficult if not impossible. Every avenue was 
closely guarded. Delay after the time appointed 
inflicted heavier chastisement on such as "despisers 
of the imperial grace." The persecutions of Diocle- 
tian were mild compared to the tortures inflicted on 
Bohemia. 

A few preachers more daring than the rest concealed 
themselves in remote places. These were busily sought 
out, and delivered to the secular arm. Occasionally 
these bold men suddenly appeared in villages where 



6 1 8 HIS TOR Y OF B OHEMIA 

no Catholic cur6 was found. But double woe to the 
hapless pastor arrested on such occasion. He was at 
once handed over to the ruffianly caprices of a brutal 
soldiery who were restrained by no scruples whatever, 
or condemned to frightful legalized tortures. The pastor 
of Bohdalov, Paul Psenicka, a venerable man of 
seventy, was burned at a slow fire composed of the 
books of his own library. At Aurzinoves the imperial 
troops filled their victims' mouth with gunpowder and 
then exploded it. I At Koniggratz in 1622 a student of 
theology Andre Chebdovsky, in the service of Count 
Thurn, was impaled on attempting to quit the country. 
The pastor of Czaslau, Matthias Ulicky, was tortured 
for having baptized in secret, and distributed the sac- 
rament. As he refused to abjure his hand was cut off, 
then his head, and his body was quartered, Septem- 
ber 10, 1627. Multitudes of similar infamies were 
perpetrated during these years. Happy indeed were 
those who were simply murdered. Torture and slow 
death afterward in dungeons became common. A few 
abjured. In 1624 still more emphatic and severe de- 
crees of banishment were issued against pastors: but 
a few remained secreted, and kept alive the faith of 
their flocks. 

John Decanus remained hidden in Prague four years. 
Only after the most atrocious penalties were de- 
nounced against those who harbored pastors in 1625, 
and large rewards offered to informers did the last of 
these men retire. In 1627 the protestant clergy had 
disappeared from Bohemia.* 

* Hist. Persec. Ch. 50. § 11 and 14 

f The Hist. Persec. contains detailed descriptions o. tne norrible 
cruelties inflicted on the pastors. Ch. 50, § 1-21. Ch. 57, § 2. 
During this year 1627 the pastor of Czaslau, Matthias Ulitzky was put 



DEVASTATION AND CRUELTY 619 

During this period, however, the licentious soldiery 
by excess of cruelty had retarded rather than facili- 
tated conversions. Lichtenstein was compelled by 
the universal clamor to revoke in cities the powers 
entrusted to such commissioners. To judges alone the 
work was now committed. The soldiers sacked Cath- 
olic churches also, and such conduct was not military. 
Even the consecrated host became the subject of 
scornful profanation atid ecclesiastics were not spared. 
Hence the heretics saw no advantage in conversion. 
Non-attendance at public service became now an 
offense. Heretics were driven to the mass or the 
confessional by severe fines, infants were forcibly bap- 
tized, and absolute control over them claimed by the 
church. Absence from processions, and neglect of 
fastings equally exposed offenders to penalties. All 
persons admitted to a trade or profession since 1618 
and not converted were prohibited from exercising it. 
Marriages formally were now forbidden unless both 
parties were Catholic. These methods compelled com- 
pliance in the case of many. But as submission con- 
tinued very partial another method was resolved on. 

In July, 1624, a general decree was issued to the 
commanders of all circles in the kingdom. It con- 
tained fifteen articles. 

Art, I. Absolute prohibition to practice a trade, a 
business, or any industr)' whatsoever on the part 
of all those who will not unite with his majest)^ in 
faith. 

II. All persons who shall permit any person whom- 
soever to preach, to baptize, or to perform a marriage 

to torture for having baptized and administered communion. As he 
refused to apostalize first his hand was cut off, then his head, and his 
body quartered; September 10, 1627. Hist. Persec Ch. 57. g§ 2-6. 



620 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ceremony in their houses shall pay a fine of loo florins, 
and in case of non payment shall be imprisoned for 
six months. 

III. The cure shall not accompany to the place of 
burial the bodies of those who have not died Catholics, 
and shall not celebrate funeral rites for such; never- 
theless he shall impose all mortuary and interment 
fees. 

IV. Ail persons who shall occupy themselves with 
any work whatever on Catholic fete days, shall be im- 
prisoned and fined ten florins. 

V. All persons who shall remain in a tavern at the 
time of mass shall be imprisoned and fined lo florins; 
the innkeeper shall pay double. 

VI. All those who shall manifest by words, ges- 
tures or otherwise their disrespect with reference to 
the Catholic worship and clergy shall be expelled from, 
the kingdom, and their goods shall be confiscated. 
The same penalty for those who shall hold heretical 
meetings. 

VII. All those who shall eat meat on Friday or 
Saturday without special permission from the arch- 
bishop shall pay a fine of lo florins. 

VIII. Every father of a family who shall not be 
present at mass Sundays and holidays shall be bound 
to supply four pounds of wax candles if he is rich and 
two pounds if he is poor. 

IX. A census of children shall be taken every- 
where. Parents who have sent their children to non- 
catholic schools shall be bound to withdraw them be- 
fore AUsaints under penalty of 50 florins fine for the 
rich, and 30 florins for the poor.* 

* Great numbers of children were forcibly collected in the Jesuit 
schools contrary to the indignant expostulations of their parents. 
Pelzel, Boemische Gelehrte p. 31, 35. 



DE VAST A TION AND CR UEL TY 62 1 

X. Whoever shall attempt to impart, secretly at 
home, religious instruction to young persons shall be 
expelled by the police, and all his goods confiscated. 

XI. No last will shall have effect if not made by 
a Catholic. Heretics are deprived of the right to tes- 
tify. 

. XII. No young man, whether orphan or not shall 
be admitted to any trade or industry whatsoever if he 
does not profess Catholicism. 

XIII. Whosoever shall permit himself to blaspheme 
against God, the very holy virgin and the saints, and 
also against the glorious house of Habsburg shall be 
punished with death without pity, and his goods con- 
fiscated, 

XIV. Every citizen in whose house shall be found 
a heretical inscription or any emblem whatsoever 
wounding to the Catholic religion shall pay a fine of 
30 florins. Wherever such inscriptions or designs 
shall be found on public edifices they shall be care- 
fully erased. 

XV. The poor and the sick maintained in the hos- 
pitals who shall not be converted by Allsaints shall 
be expelled from the hospitals and in future only 
Catholics shall be received^ thus the immutable pur- 
pose of his majesty shall be accomplished. 

Carl Furst von Lichtenstein. "* 
This ordinance was posted up in all cities, markets 
and public places, by the government officers and 
local authorities. Immediately following this procla- 
mation a beginning was made under its provisions. 
Visitors passed from house to house and left with 
every householder, housewife, maid, employee a 

* Hist. Persec. ch. 91. Also Pelzel, Hist, of Boh. who gives the 
articles in full. 



622 ■ HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

paper containing four questions. I. Were you born 
a Catholic? 11. Have you become a Catholic? III. 
Have you promised to become a Catholic? IV. "Will 
you by no means become a Catholic?* The universal 
answer was in the negative and then proscriptions, ban- 
ishments, confiscations with every species of insult 
and injur}^ By scores and hundreds all were driven 
out with wives and children. Every individual who 
could procure means to depart with accepted exile. 
Only the hopelessly poor remained. The citizens of 
Kuttenberg were promised religious liberty, as they 
were Lutherans, without exception. Six months after- 
ward when occasion became opportune, twenty soldiers 
were quartered in every house until the owners were 
ruined, or Catholic, or both. 

Not satisfied with this process the authorities sur- 
rendered the city into the hands of the Spaniard, 
Don Martin de Huerda. He let loose a squadron of 
cuirassiers against all indiscriminately and the greater 
number of the inhabitants fled in dismay and never 
returned. The town of Yumbuntlau had belonged to 
the Bohemian brethren for two hundred years. They 
had built and possessed it. The dragoons headed by 
two capuchins took the place as if by storm, and the 
inhabitants were expelled. 

To Leitmeritz the Spaniard Don Balthazar was com- 
missioned. He came with a battalion of dragoons; and 
two capuchins — Valerian Magnus and Franz von Roz- 
rayov — directed the operations. The troops were quar- 
tered on the citizens by twenty and thirty in a house. 
This process seemed too slow and an additional regi- 
ment was called in. The exactions and cruelties drove 
the citizens out by hundreds at a time, and the city 

* Hist. Persec. Ch. 92, § , 6. * 



DE VAS TA TION AND CR UEL TY 623 

became almost depopulated. As late as 1817 it had 
not recovered from the effects of that raid. 

Koniggratz was surrendered to the Croats. These 
fiends compelled citizens to accept conversion with 
stabbings and sword cuts. At last a "Breinerisch" regi- 
ment completed the work. The male citizens were 
imprisoned and the women left to the brutalit}^ of the 
assailants. Wantonness raged without cessation. At 
length the men yielded to the pitiful lamentations and 
screams of their wives and daughters and accepted 
a Catholic profession.* A very common practice among 
the soldiers was to seize young babies and detain them 
from their mothers' arms until the screams of the lit- 
tle ones compelled the women to abjure. Under these 
tortures the cit}' became depopulated of all its educated 
elements. Merchants, traders, and professional per- 
sons fled as best they might, and only the abject 
and dependent remained. At Bydzov Huerda col- 
lected the citizens in the town hall and asked them 
if they would become Catholics. John Kolar replied 
that it was hard for people to abjure at once the re- 
ligion they had been born and brought up in. Huerda 
instantly struck the speaker with his staff and expelled 
him from the city. A few packed their goods and at- 
tempted to escape. But a troop of horse dragged 
tnem back to their doom. From this place Huerda 
marched to Saatz. He sent his troopers before him 
and entered himself with some Jesuits who always ac- 
companied him. Placing himself at the gate he for- 
bade any person to quit the place. Hundreds escaped 
over the walls to Meissen. All the Bohemian breth- 
ren in the place were burned together in one great hol- 
ocaust. At Domazlize the under chamberlain at- 
* Hist. Persec. Ch. 96, § 4. 



624 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tempted conversions without success. Huerda wa- 
gered him five hundred ducats if he would succeed. 
Forthwith he quartered twenty troopers on every fam- 
ily and won his bet. The city was also condemned 
to pay the bet back again to the chamberlain. At 
Rokyczan, Schlan, Pisek, and other towns precisely 
similar persecutions were carried out. At Prachalitz 
the citizens closed the gate and resisted for three days 
and then surrendered. The soldiers entered in fury 
and slaughtered all before them. In three hours six- 
teen hundred and sixty men lay dead on the street.* 
At Lissa when the approach of the reformators be- 
came known the inhabitants fled at once. In the 
country districts no resistance was possible. Thou- 
sands left the country by every outlet. Other thousands 
fled to the mountains, to caves, and marshes and per- 
ished miserably. In a few fastnesses stragglers suc- 
ceeded in hiding, and in future years the effects of 
their presence and secret visits to towns and villages 
were felt. The land has never been wholly surren- 
dered. Books and printed matter were swept to in- 
discriminate destruction. Scarcely a vestige remained. 
Terrible as the period from 1624 to 1626 was ren- 
dered by the cruelties here briefly and imperfectly 
sketched yet it was not the worst. Comparative re- 
pose resulted from the war with Denmark and the 
threatening invasion of Silesia by Mansfeld. On this 
side some little relaxation was necessary. But from 
the moment when Bethle Gabor retired, and duke 
Earnest of Weimar in Hungary and Bosnia had re- 
leased the emperor from all apprehension the religious 
persecution of Bohemia was revived, if possible with 
more relentless rigor than ever. The very extreme 
* Hist. Persec; Ch. 102. Not ten men escaped from this place. 



DEVASTATION AND CRUELTY 625 

of atrocious cruelty was reached when Ferdinand in 
person took up his residence at Prague in October, 
1627, in order to be closer to the electoral congress at 
Miihlhansen, and to celebrate the coronation of the 
empress, and of his son Ferdinand Ernest as king of 
Bohemia. On this occasion the emperor found leis- 
ure, amid the political cabals and dramatic represen- 
tations conducted by the Jesuit fathers,* the bear hunts, 
and festivities, to listen to detailed reports of the 
progresss of the reform of Bohemia, to dictate details 
of procedure, to stimulate the zeal of commissioners, 
and to recompense abjuration. Up to this point the 
citizens and peasantry had felt the whole force of re- 
formatory proceedings; the nobility remained. The 
work of their conversion Ferdinand undertook in per- 
son. For this purpose other measures than open vio- 
lence were necessary. The years 1627 and 1628 wit- 
nessed the progress of definite and concentrated per- 
secution in Bohemia. Ferdinand and his advisers had 
discovered that the most effective method of severity 
did not consist of sanguinary violence, Carafa him- 
self, with a calmness of brutality unrivaledjdeclares that 
"Men had recognized the fact that in order to en- 
lighten the Bohemians and restore them to the good 
way there was but one method — persecution." His 
own words are "Cognitum fuit solam vexationem Bo- 
hemis posse intellectum prabere eosque in bonam viam 
dirigere. "f Persecution then was deliberately adopted 
as a principle; but its method became cunning, cruel, 
and diversified in character according to the class as- 
sailed. The methods were not the less odious, be- 

* The piece presented bore the significant title " Constantinus 
victor, hilaris tragedia." 

f Carafa. Commentaria de Germania sacra restaurata. p. 102. 



626 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

cause not so sanguinary. An excited imagination is a 
frightful weapon. It was not humanity that prevented 
the autos da fe of Spain, of Fraace or of the Nether- 
lands. A keener weapon was employed. "It is nec- 
essary to hunt them from place to place," said the 
bishop of Breslau, "and at last not knowing whither 
to go in their despair, they will be compelled to sub- 
mit." It was that principle that had hurled the Ar- 
mada against England. It was the enforcement of 
that principle that now nerved the hearts of the Crom- 
wellians. They felt that the last refuge of their 
-brethren was being assailed from within, in alliance 
with the persecutors of Bohemia from without. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

DESTRUCTION OF THE NOBILITY. 

From his infancy Ferdinand had been moulded by 
Jesuit hands. He was subjected to an influence very 
similar to modern hypnotism. Ph5'sically his eyes 
were open and his brain seemingly normal in its activ- 
ity. Really his motive force was wholly guided by a 
mind without. "He had been early habituated at 
Gratz by his confessor, father Villerius, not to decide 
anything for himself; "per essere libero d' ogni scru- 
polo di conscienza" are the words of Carafa. Hence 
no consideration of state policy or economic effects 
entered his mind. He accordingly now surrendered 
himself to measures utterly ruinous to the ancient 
kingdom he had sworn to protect. Since 1622 some 
attempts had been made to reduce individual nobles 
to submission. By an order issued that year they 
had been summoned to Prague to acknowledge their 
offenses and ask for pardon. Seven hundred and 
twenty-eight nobles obeyed the summons and signed 
an imposed petition for pardon of rebellion. This 
declaration had been represented as a mere formality. 
Under this confession many lost their entire proper- 
ty; others one half, some a third of their estates. In 
order to prevent emigration strict prohibition of the 
sale of estates was published. The penalty was the 
loss of the purchase money and a sum equivalent to it 
in addition as a fine. This edict was directed against 

62? 



628 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

all proprietors alike, guilty or mnocent. Blind men, 
paralytics, and even dead men fell under this pro- 
scription. Cardinal Dietrichstein and Count Michna 
who conducted these inquiries jocularly replied to 
those who proved their innocence that the}' must be 
included in any event, as they were guilty of the 
double offense of heresy and wealth. This commis- 
sion sat for several years; and proceeded slowly, to 
avoid the danger of resistance if all felt alarmed at 
once. The wealth thus amassed by no means found 
its way to the imperial treasury. Lichtenstein, Michna, 
Martinitz openly embezzled immense sums. At first 
the condemned lost only one half to save appearances. 
The victims idly dreamed of retaining the remainder. 
All the estates of the condemned were next assumed 
by the treasury and orders on the treasurer were issued 
in place of rents. Not a crown was ever paid under 
these orders. Very few were even permitted to remain 
on their estates. It was a plan of campaign. The 
protestant nobles were thus excluded from all politi- 
cal status. They retained not even seats among the 
estates. The next step consisted in the issuance of an 
imperial decree for the verification of all receipts for 
loans, all mortgages, and other representatives of mon- 
ey thus secured, under penalty of loss of the entire 
principal. After close examination the commisssion 
replied to all who had obeyed the summons, by re- 
turning all evidences of debt of which the recovery 
seemed doubtful; the others were declared to be the 
property of the emperor. In some instances persons 
who had seated themselves in conveyances to retire 
from the country were arrested without ceremony and 
their baggage confiscated on the spot. All sums of 
money deposited in treasuries or banks were seized. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE NOBILITY 629 

Receipts from the treasury were proffered, and these 
excused by the necessities of the war. All means of 
escape were cut off even from the most wealthy. By 
this system the ancient landed proprietorship disap- 
peared from the earth. In its place was substituted 
a motley crowd of Italif^ns, Germans, Spaniards and 
other mercenaries who liberally shared the large spoils 
with the church. From this source was derived the 
colossal fortune of Albert of Waldstein, afterward 
generalissimo, chief butcher and chief victim in suc- 
cession. The amount of property thus confiscated 
amounted to more than seven millions and a quarter 
of florins. Even this sum at forced sale did not rep- 
resent a quarter of the real value. In one year, 642 
lordships were confiscated. Thus the Lichtensteins, 
Dietrichsteins, Harrachs, Villanis, Buquois, Gallas, 
Dufours, Collatos, CoUoredos, Khevenhillers, Kinskys, 
Huerdas, Marradas, and others have become enriched 
from the territorial possessions violently snatched 
from the Bohemian owners. If an equalization of 
land and estates be just in the extreme west of Europe, 
justice would require a similar equalization in Bohe- 
mia in the east. In the west a voice to reclaim has 
always been loud; in the east the voice even of re- 
monstrance has been stifled for centuries. The por- 
tion that Ferdinand did not confer on his courtiers or 
his generals became the property of the church. "If 
any one traverse Bohemia now," says a contemporary, 
"and on entering a village, or passing a mansion he 
inquire to whom that palace, or those fields, or vine- 
yards belong, where all is so rich and smiling he will 
receive the reply 'That belonged to such and such a 
proprietor, now it belongs to the Jesuits."* 
* Peschek ii, p. 176, 



630 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

These confiscations of the property of protestants 
were designed not only to seize the estates but to de- 
prive the owners of all right of interposition on be- 
half of tenants and retainers. Henceforth not one 
word could they utter for liberty of conscience. A 
rescript of Ferdinand consigned all confiscated lands 
to the spiritual care of Catholic priests. The exceed- 
ing few proprietors of the reform who were permitted 
to reside on these estates were expressly forbidden to 
permit other than Catholic pastors. Even private 
worship in any but Catholic form, albeit without cler- 
gy, was menaced with death, as Carafa himself di- 
rectly states.* 

All protestant instruction fell beneath the same 
menace. Religious liberty thus annihilated, civ- 
il liberty was next assailed. July 30th, 1624, all 
marriage except between Catholics was interdicted. In 
the following year a new rescript deprived heretics 
of all political rights and privileges throughout the 
kingdom. These atrocities became intensified in pro- 
portion to Ferdinand's success in the field. 

* Carafa Relatione p, 153. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

WALDSTEIN, CARAFA, MONKS, JESUITS AND THEIR CRU- 
ELTIES. 

At this juncture rose into prominence the most ex- 
traordinary character in modern history. No soldier, 
ruler or adventurer from Belisarius to the "Blind Beg- 
gar of Bethnal Green"* and Napoleon Bonaparte ex- 
hibited in his own career such tremendous vicissitudes, 
no man in any age presented such intense shades of 
light and darkness in his personality, as did the phe- 
nomenal person who appeared as a chief actor in the 
struggles that convulsed Europe at this period. 

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius Waldstein born of Bohe- 
mian parents September 14th, 1583, descended from an 
old Chekh family. Of most vigorous stock, but a seven 
months child, the boy and the man exhibited the 
strength and the weakness incident to a strong nature 
imperfectly developed, and wanting in some of the 
characteristics that distinguish humanity in its com- 
pleteness. The family, though of ancient descent was 
poor, and belonged to the lower grade of nobility. 
The house had become divided into the branches of 
Wartenberg and of Waldstein, the latter being the 
less considerable. This branch possessed the small 
estate of Hermanic in the circle of Koniggratz. The 
boy was left a complete orphan at twelve years of age 
his mother Katharine Slavata having died July 2, 1593, 

* See The Percy Reliques. 

631 



632 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and his father Wilhelm of Waldstein February 24th, 
1595- These persons were both earnest protestants; 
and in their home Albrecht imbibed much of the faith 
and political and social sentiments of the reformed un- 
der the instruction of a protestant minister. At first 
the orphan boy was under the care of his maternal un- 
cle Albrecht Slavata; but another uncle, Johan Karka 
of Ricain, took the lad to his home ; and being an ar- 
dent friend of the Jesuits placed his nephew in the 
Jesuit school at Olmiitz. The boy exhibited a wild 
and fractious spirit, unreasonable and inclined to be 
quarrelsome, and a turbulent impatience that obtained 
for him the soubriquet of "Der Tolle. " The boy's 
make-up was strong as far as it went but was incom- 
plete and crude. 

For some time he was employed as a page in 
the household of Margrave of Burgau, son of Arch- 
duke Ferdinand, and this circumstance certainly 
influenced his future life. During this service he hap- 
pened to fall from a great height and was taken up 
as dead. The Jesuits persuaded the injured lad that 
he owed his security to the virgin. Next we find him 
at the university of Padua at that time under Venetian 
influence, and not strongly Jesuitical or papal in its 
tone. Here the irregular mind of the youth exhibited 
a perfectly natural predilection for the mystic lore of 
the cabala; and he became an adept in astrology, 
his only other subject of study being mathematics, not 
then by any means the dignified and extensive science 
that it is now. Astrology, that excited the imigina- 
tion and cheated the reason, perfectly suited the ardent 
impatience of Waldstein. His restless disposition 
was early gratified by travel and he is believed to 
have visited England. On his return to Prat^uti the 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 633 

youth mingled with the most reckless debauches of the 
city. Separated from early protestant associations, 
young Waldstein accommodated himself to his sur- 
roundings. Astrology occupied whatever attention he 
devoted to any kind of study; and in religion he 
seemed not to differ from those around him. 

Attracted to a combative life young Waldstein neces- 
sarily became a soldier; and first saw service under 
general George Basta then fighting against the Turks 
and against protestant Hungary. After the siege of Gram 
he became a captain of infantry; and was then about 
twenty years of age. During the peace that followed 
Waldstein returned to Bohemia in 1606. At this pe- 
riod the dashing and self-confident soldier won the 
hand of an elderly lady, Lucrezia of Viskova of Lan- 
deck, possessed of great wealth both in money and es- 
tates. This marriage must be referred to 1610. The 
lady died in 1614 after four years of unhappy married 
life, leaving her husband still childless but possessed 
of an immense fortune. His wealth enabled Wald- 
stein to equip a troop of 300 cavaliers for service against 
the Venetians; and he was by Ferdinand promoted to 
be colonel, and sent to Moravia. Here being commis- 
sioned to collect revenues Waldstein abstracted 12,000 
crowns from the public chest and handed over a small 
balance to the emperor. His next service temporarily 
united his fortunes with those of Matthias; but on 
the appointment of Ferdinand of Styria to the king- 
dom of Bohemia, although wholly irregular and ille- 
gal, yet Waldstein seems to have transferred his alle- 
giance to the titular king. Soon afterward Waldstein 
raised a regiment of Walloons and two regiments of 
infantry, and won distinction in the early operations 
against the elector Palatine — king of Bohemia. With 



6 34 HIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

this important force be fought at the White Mountain. 
His troopers were among the first to occupy Prague, 
and the most brutal in pillage and violence. At noon, 
November gth, 1620, Waldstein, still a colonel, en- 
tered the city with Maximilian. The following year 
Waldstein saw service in Moravia against Bethle 
Gabor, and rose to the rank of major general. His 
enormous wealth commanded promotion, and his next 
marriage with a daughter of the court chamberlain, 
Count Harrach, though ambitious and self seeking, was 
suitable and happy. The lady was much her hus- 
band's junior in years^ fair and amiable. Priorato calls 
her "a lady truly of remarkable modesty, and perfect 
innocence."* On the occasion of his marriage colonel 
Waldstein was created count, and loaded with honor 
at the court of Ferdinand, At this period the crown 
held at its disposal no less than 642 confiscated es- 
tates of Bohemian noble protestants ; and out of these 
the services of Waldstein must be rewarded. He was 
allowed to purchase property for 150,000 gulden at 
first; and so on afterward for 7,290,228 gulden. This 
latter purchase included sixty estates; and the price 
paid did not amount to one-iifth of the value. In 1623 
Waldstein had become prince of the holy Roman em- 
pire; and in 1624 was created duke of Friedland. At 
this point in his marvelous career Waldstein stood 
on a towering eminence but with a tremendous preci- 
pice direct in his path but as yet unseen by man. 

At this period he raised more troops; and exhibited 
further proofs of his ability to create regiments if not 
armies. t He also presented strong tokens of an eager 

* "Una dame veramente di remarcabile modestio, e di una gran- 
dissima purita." 

f A question has been raised by writers insufficiently acquainted 
with the system of confiscation then adopted, respecting the possibil- 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 635 

ambition y.et devoid of definiteness, a fondness for 
splendor, and an arbitrary and imperious will. 

At that date true science had not disenthralled itself 
from the delusive bondage of superstition. Every nat- 
ural event, every motion of the planets, and especially 
every conjunction of astronomical phenomena was sup- 
posed to be associated with the events of particular 
human lives. Although multitudes of human beings 
were born under the same conjunctions, and their des- 
tinies were as different as those of mortals always are, 
yet as only the most conspicuous were regarded, every 
person of any note studied his destiny by the aid of 
some professional fortune-teller. Even respectable 
astronomers still dealt in the jargon of astrology, per- 
haps as artists in all ages have made coarse pictures 
to suit the market and provide bread. Waldstein en- 
trusted his astrological confidences to an Italian 
named Battista Seni, and with him devoted whole 
nights to a study of stars in order to wrest therefrom, 
if possible, some of the secrets of his future fortune. 

Arrived at distinction, if not greatness, the opulent 
and gloomy major-general sought the aid of the astrono- 
mer Kepler. Even this illustrious discoverer did not dis- 
dain such service. He cast the horoscope of the eager 
and ambitious soldier. Waldstein was discovered to 
have been born under the supreme conjunction of the 
two mighty forces of Jupiter and Saturn, both in the 

ity of so vast a sum as that stated in the text being at the disposal of 
one person in ready money. That estates to the value above named 
were seized and the owners expelled at one time cannot be questioned. 
But not one dollar was ever paid for them. Nominally the king's 
treasurer issued scrip to the dispossessed proprietors; but it was all 
utterly repudiated. The holders of the scrip were mocked and in- 
sulted on presenting even the least portion of it for payment. In 
this way Waldstein was able to obtain as many estates as he chose 
without cost, except whatever he paid to the treasury. But in fact no 
payment except the first was demanded. 



636 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

"first house." Saturn presides over gloom, melancholy, 
myster}'. His influence denotes dark ambition, im- 
ports a disposition impatient, haught}'; portends ca- 
lamity, struggles, contention; is associated with secret 
deeds of violence, with jealousy, despair, indignation 
over ingratitude, with a turbulent life, mighty foes, 
and dreadful vicissitudes. The regal planet on the 
other hand develops a thirst for glory and distinction, 
and points to splendid achievements, glory and great- 
ness. The combination of Saturnian and Jovialistic 
influences indicated at once greatness of danger, and 
brilliancy of fortune accompanied by secret conspira- 
cies, and the partial success of the malignant over the 
grand, of envy over glory. Elizabeth of England it 
was remarked, had been born under the same combin- 
ation As Waldstein always bestowed munificently 
no doubt Kepler received a liberal donation for his 
vaticination. It aided to plunge the impetuous and 
now melancholy soldier into the study of the stars, not 
to discover their laws or motions but to descry his 
own destiny. 

Being thus advanced to power and conscious of his 
resources Waldstein volunteered to levy, equip, organ- 
ize and maintain a force of 50,000 men, without ex- 
pense to the emperor, provided he should be entrusted 
with the absolute Command. The emperor readily 
accepted this most welcortie proposal, appointed cer- 
tain districts in Bohemia for the new levies; and 
created Waldstein duke of Friedland. He soon 
raised a force of 22,000 in the districts selected, and 
on hiS; march toward Saxony increased the number to 
30,000, The promise of plunder being the condition 
of service, adventurers of the most daring and desper- 
ate character, criminals and vagabonds without home 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 637 

or country, professional robbers and murderers crowd- 
ed to Waldstein's standards. The most peaceable, 
wealthy and commercial districts of Germany were 
offered to these desperadoes, and no criminal or licen- 
tious violence stayed their bands. The army rapidly 
swelled far beyond the number stipulated, and before 
long reached 100,000 of the worst ruffians in Europe. 
North Germany to the Baltic soon became a scene of 
frightful devastation. All the destruction wrought 
by the worst known military oppression fell far short 
of Waldstein's enormities. Provinces were made des- 
olate, towns sacked, ruin spread everywhere. Through 
Saxony, Brunswick and Brandenburg these murderous 
bandits advanced and wasted. Mansfeld and the king 
of Denmark were defeated and Hungary compelled 
to sue for peace. The operations extended over states 
and provinces and multiplied carnage and devastation. 

In 400 years no such atrocities had been known in 
Europe, and never before in the regions now despoiled. 
Prosperous countries were instantly converted into 
scenes of ruin ; of towns and villages remained only 
ashes. Corpses of men and women strewed the high- 
ways — many found with coarse grass in their mouths, 
gnawed for food. The dead were disinterred and de- 
voured; children slew their parents, mothers killed 
their infants to appease the tortures of hunger. Only 
at Stralsund did Waldstein receive a check. But his 
conquests conferred on him dukedoms and lordships, 
and vast landed estates. 

During these atrocities in Germany, Bohemia con- 
tinued to be the scene of unresisted oppression on one 
side and remorseless tyranny and rage of intolerance 
on the other. 

February 28th, 1626, Ferdinand declared himself 



638 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

universal guardian of heretic orphans whose numbers 
he could multiply at pleasure, under the title "pupil- 
lorum supremus tutor." Women were found much 
more intractable than men during these cruelties. In 
a sermon preached at Prague the Jesuit Andre declared 
that it was far better to have the devil at one's side 
than a heretic woman. One can be expelled by exor- 
cism and holy water, but with the other the sign of 
the cross, chrysom and baptism were wholly unavail- 
ing. Catholic husbands were required to repudiate 
protestant wives, after a certain date. Not one woman 
was converted and not one man repudiated his v/ife. 
Yet the mass of the people, even of those compelled 
to remain in the countr}^, opposed a passive submis- 
sion to save appearances. Even Lichtenstein, not be- 
ing an ecclesiastic, seemed lukewarm. In October, 

1626, Ernest de Harrach presented severe complaints 
against him and the insufficiency of his methods. The 
prince-governor died soon afterward; and de Harrach 
now a cardinal, became unresisted master of the re- 
formatory measures. At his instance in February, 

1627, Ferdinand instituted a high commission of re- 
form, consisting of the archbishop, Martinetz, chief 
justice Frederic of Fallenberg, Caspar de Questenberg, 
the Capuchin Valerianius Magnus and Christopher 
Mitrowitz. Their duty consisted of directing and 
stimulating the activity of the commissioners in the 
methods already in practice. This commission re- 
ceived full power of life and death. Very detailed 
instructions were issued to them by the emperor him- 
self. Persuasive means must be adopted. These 
methods were cloaked under delusive terms. They 
were expressed in the mild phrases which then con- 
veyed unlimited signification, and an application as 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 639 

broad as it became effective. "Per decentia media 
cogere' is the barbarous mediaeval phrase employed. 
The interpretation of the words "compel" and "de- 
cent" was left to those concerned. These instructions 
were at once enforced by means of the "booted mis- 
sionaries" from Spain. Nevertheless, all through this 
year, 1627, it was known that, notwithstanding ap- 
pearances, protestantism was far from dead in Prague. 
All inhabitants were now required to give proof of 
conversion or quit the city. This measure was insisted 
on as the basis of citizenship. But it applied equally 
to all and was found not conclusive. Each magistrate 
was required to furnish the commission with a list of 
all the inhabitants of his bailiwick. This list was ar- 
ranged in four columns, — born Catholics, newly con- 
verted, those who had promised to abjure, hardened 
heretics. The viertels-meister, or officers of the dis- 
trict, traversed the city, and interrogated every person, 
old and young, proprietors and lodgers, masters and 
servants, as to which of these categories they desired 
to be enrolled in The condition of their religious 
belief was minutely investigated. This direct personal 
assault overcame many of the timid. They well knew 
the consequences of being enrolled in the fourth class. 
The list of those who promised speedy conversion was 
rapidly filled. "The closing of their shops," says Car- 
dinal Carafa, who narrates these events, and gloats 
over them, "and the fear of exile compelled many_ to 
yield who had not been controlled by false shame, as 
soon as some of the more notable had been found to 
set the example." A great number of the bourgeoisie 
fearlessly avowed their faith; and the effect was found 
to be far below the expectation. "Notwithstanding 
the fact," says Carafa, "that no one could complain 



640 ms TOR Y OF B OHE MIA 

of the instruction given him, for each was at liberty 
to choose the days and hours of his catechism, and 
even the person of his instructor, yet these advantages 
were slightly appreciated." The determination was 
now formed to expel the chief objectors. July 12, 
1627, four of the chief notables of the old city were 
ordered to quit Prague at the end of one month, if 
not previously converted, after having paid the fines 
due to the emperor, and settled all their debts. The 
excess of their property was to be remitted to them. 
The other inhabitants were exhorted to profit by this 
example. 

Some respite being requested, two weeks addi- 
tional were conceded on condition of being in- 
structed by the Jeusits during that time, or of being 
imprisoned. All fled with precipitation. Their fam- 
ilies were soon afterward expelled in indigence. The 
same procedure was applied to all recalcitrants. These 
were chased away in groups, some larger, some smaller. 
At one time seventy were exiled together. Before 
these measures of conversion open resistance ceased. 
All the inhabitants of Prague had assumed the appear- 
ance of being Catholics. Many committed suicide 
through remorse. John de Witte, the merchant of Hoi' 
land, flung himself into a well. Others died of a 
broken heart, like John Campan professor at the uni- 
versity, who being anathematized by his wife on the 
day of his abjuration suddenly dropped dead. Jolin 
Chytraus struck dumb in attempting to abjure expired 
soon after in his own house. Similar scenes and re- 
sults were multiplied through the towns and villages. 
The methods the same — the results identical July 
31st, 1627, Ferdinand issued from Vienna a triple edict 
whereby the protestant nobility were required abso- 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 641 

lutely to choose between instant abjuration and exile. 
New commissioners of reform were named to traverse 
the country. If any unhappy wight was discovered 
who had not abjured he was instantly banished with- 
out notice. Sales could only be made to Catholics. 
All business transactions and relations must close in 
six m.onths. The large privilege was accorded of 
quitting the kingdom without paying toll. In all this 
proscription Ferdinand's vaunted sincerity only dem- 
onstrates the fact that misdirected sincerity is fre- 
quently the most cruel wickedness. During the opera- 
tion of these edicts the value of property had im- 
mensely depreciated. Even purchasers only paid in 
scrip issued by the treasurer, and that was never re- 
deemed or intended to be so. No middle course was 
left between abjuration and utter ruin. Many per- 
sons bowed before this tempest. Carafa avows that , 
this portion of his plan of campaign proved the most 
effective. All entreaties to defer the period of choice 
were received b}' Ferdinand with total contempt. Some 
yielded; others purchased from priests false certifi- 
cates of abjuration, and then fled from the country. 
The neighboring provinces were inundated with fugi- 
tives. The greater number settled in Silesia where 
their descendants materially aided Frederic of Prus- 
sia, By an imperial decree in 1628 many of these 
immigrants were expelled from Silesia. Others wan- 
dered to Hungary, Transylvania, Switzerland, Bran- 
denburg, the Netherlands and a few to the Americas. 
This great exodus alarmed the court. A decree 
of December 9th, 1627, deferred the period of final 
choice; but contained the ominous monition to all 
that the term of religious instruction must cease 
in the following May. Wives must depart from th.'^ 



642 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

kingdom with their husbands, but all children of 
every age and of all ranks must remain, and be 
brought up by Catholic tutors in the Jesuit seminaries, 
or in convents. All who had emigrated and taken the 
children of friends with them were menaced with 
confiscation of all remaining property. Protestant 
widows were universally deprived of their children. 

A great number of the most eminent nobles had ac- 
cepted the path of exile. Ferdinand found no difficul- 
ty in supplying their places. In one year— 1626 — he 
created sixty new counts and one hundred barons. The 
clergy were set up as first in rank, and endowed with 
magnificent possessions. Nevertheless, the success was 
far from being complete. In many domains the poor 
tenants had been allowed to witness the sufferings and 
degradation of the proprietors; as it had been found 
impossible to convince or convert the poor folk while 
the rich and educated remained. In certain towns 
close to the Saxon frontier that had always enjoyed 
special advantages, and cultivated industries peculiarly 
favored and valuable, as at Schlaggerwald, where all 
the miners were protestants, an ominous toleration 
had prevailed, after the expulsion of the pastors. But 
here also toward 1628 military executions smote the 
people.* An ancient and prosperous town almost in- 
stantly sank to poverty and woe. The entire institu- 
tions, archives and industries of the people were an- 
nihilated. Scarcely a vestige of its ancient life re- 
mained. The energy of resistance active and passive 
reached its utmost limits in Bohemia. No degree or 
description of torture was left untried against the 
doomed people. Except some indignant protests in 

* A Kohl. Wiedereinfuhrung der Kath, Lehre in Schlaggerwald, p. 
47- 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 643 

England not a voice was raised in favor of the de- 
voted martyrs. In every direction squadrons of dra- 
goons enforced the orders of the Capuchins and Jesuits, 
and only death, exile or abjuration was permitted.* 
Utter destitution arising from violent robbery did not 
save the victims. Tabor itself became the special ob- 
ject of the attentions of Don Balthasar de Marrada, 
and the Jesuits; and their combined triumph was 
marked as a signal proof of divine interposition. f 
No doubt the heavens smiled as usual over the atroc- 
ities of earth. Of this special conquest the Jesuits 
boasted at Rome ; and they even claimed all Bohemia 
as their acquisition. Ttie Capuchin Valerianus Magnus 
then present replied, saying with a smile to Ur- 
ban VIII. "Holy father, give me as good soldiers 
as have been entrusted to the Jesuits, and I promise 
to have the whole world become Catholic. "| 

Yet were smouldering embers of the alleged heresy 
still alive and warm in a multitude of households. 
The methods adopted were even yet blamed as too 
tardy. In order to enforce attendance at the mass the 
names of residents were posted up in all districts for 
the information of commissioners and informers, A 
reward of fifty crowns each secured the service's of 
many of these latter. All persons absent from the 
service were severely fined. By a refinement of per- 
secution the fine was devoted not only to the mainte- 
nance of the cult deemed idolatrous by all, but to the 
promotion of the infamous methods practiced in sup- 
port of it. Marriage interdicted, baptism enforced, 
burial denied, every act denounced except that one 

* Compare, — "The Koran, the Tribute, or the Sword." 

f Relatione p, 153. 

X Pelzel ii. p. 788 



644 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

especially hated. Carafa declared that such means 
were found the most effective to produce conversion. 
Whoever saw his dear ones succumb to these tortures 
before his eyes must inter them clandestinely in a hid- 
den grave, or their remains could not rest in peace, 
and even then the peril was extreme of disinterment 
and open exposure. During the painful years 1627 
and 1628 the story of Bohemia is limited to the hourly 
enactment of similar crimes, all committed in the name 
of faith. Toward the close of 1628 still another act 
in the terrible drama was enacted under the instiga- 
tion of Albrecht of Waldstein. "It is only bungling, " 
he said, "to speak of religion to the peasants while a 
remnant of the nobilitj' remains unexpelled. We must 
not provoke all at once. Let the noblesse be first 
utterly rooted out."* Promises and flatteries were first 
adopted. The mendicant monks traversed the afflicted 
country declaring that the peasantry need not deny 
their faith, but only acknowledge the supremacy of 
the holy see. They assumed ail responsibility before 
God of any possible mistake in religion. f On arriv- 
ing in a village these skilful missionaries commenced 
by exhibiting with great pomp the imperial decrees, 
as well as the certificates of the archbishop and no- 
bles. Then they proceeded to the church followed 
by a gaping crowd. Then a sermon filled with the 
terrors of eternal fire, mingled with stern threats of 
vengeance at home.| Promises of remission of pub- 

* Foerster, Wallenstein p. 356. 

f Balbinus lib. IV, p. 143. 

X Balbinus remarks that one of these missionaries. P, Krawarsky 
"was a man of such authority that he seemed not to speak but to com- 
mand". Lib IV. pf 2 p. 143. P. Konias who boasted of the de- 
struction of Bohemian literature, preached in such a manner of the 
last judgment and of hell that his auditors became crazy. Pelzel 
Bcehm. Gelehrte p. 185. 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 645 

lie servic33 011 roads, and other burdens were lavish; 
provisions were distributed to the hungry and starv- 
ing in districts utterly impoverished by the proceed- 
ing dragonnades. The terrible effects of cruelty now 
temporarily alleviated became the basis of claims to 
"sweet charity" to the poor. These poor had been 
robbed of their abundance and were now expected to 
be fervently grateful for a pittance of that which had 
never belonged to other than themselves. A monk 
at Koschumberg promised a quart of meal to every 
one who confessed to him. The starving peasants 
accepted the offer. His stock became so reduced, he 
could only offer a pint. Those receiving the smaller 
amount accused him of cheating them. "Are our 
souls," they exclaimed, "worth only half as much as 
those others?" Conversions ceased. Lamormain and 
Philippi suggested measures on a graduated scale: 
"Moderate chastisements and wisely graduated; God 
will take care of the rest." Supernatural claims and 
miraculous powers became a new method of conver- 
sion. Numerous cures by an image of the virgin were 
announced by Cardinal Dietrichstein at Nikolburg. 
Diseases induced by unnatural famine compelled many 
to seek relief. Many images seemed to shed tears, 
and Holyk, a novice of the Jesuits, who at length es- 
caped from Bohemia, and had studied the methods 
adopted, explains the mechanism by which transparent 
pebbles were made to issue from the eyes of the im- 
ages and fall down the face until concealed again by 
folds of drapery. Shaded light rendered the illusion 
effective for a time. A large image of Christ on the 
cross, with head and arms movable at the will of the 
bearer was conveyed from village to village. This im- 
age bowed affably to Catholics, but seemed to turn from 



646 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

all others with pain. But these methods proved slow 
and comparatively ineffective. "Until a few lieads are 
cut off," said the missionaries, "nothing will be done. "* 
The dragoons arrived. The practice of separating 
young nursing infants from their mothers until the 
women fainting with grief at their infants' cries con- 
sented to abjure, became universal. In one village 
on the borders of Silesia two miscreant soldiers cut 
an infant in two, flung the quivering portions before 
the parents, exclaiming : 'There is your communion 
sub utraque. "t These fiends designated themselves 
"Die Seligmacher" — the saviors. At Leitomischl pro- 
visions were forbidden to be sold to heretics. At 
Prostiejova some hundreds were imprisoned in a most 
fetid stable; all the doors and windows closed; and 
the wretched creatures murdered by suffocation. Only 
a few survived to abjure. At Holeschau the Jesuit, 
John Drachovsky had constructed an oaken cage 
wherein the victim was suspended in such way that 
he could neither sit nor lie down nor stand.;}; The 
stoutest frame bestowed on man was broken by such 
torture. It was not the will that submitted. Absolute 
prohibition to sleep formed a frequent method. Many 
unhappy wretches were driven mad and idiotic by this 
infliction. Confinement in subterranean dungeons 
where an icy stream flowed constituted the method at 
Pardubitz.§ The archbishop of Prague deserves the 
credit of a novel method. He suggested the prohibi- 
tion of all food to cattle until their owners, driven to 
distraction by the cries of the poor beasts succumbed 

* The words of John Cselestinus arch priest of Koniggratz. 

f Peschek, II, p. 141. 

X His . Persec. Ch. 103, § 10. 

§ Hist. Persec. Ch. 103, § xi. 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 647 

to their tormentors. "See," said the peasants, "our 
cattle, our hogs,, our calves have more sense than the 
Jesuits. These men have preached to us in vain for 
years ; our dumb animals have made us Catholics in 
a few hours."* 

These methods effected an outward conformity. Hu- 
man nature yielded to more than inhuman oppression. 
The atrocities perpetrated were indeed veiled under 
a mild designation. The emperor did not design to 
inflict death on any man; it was claimed, when poor 
sufferers demanded death instead of cruelty, he did 
not thirst for their blood; and besides it did not be- 
come such wicked offenders to deem themselves worthy 
of the crown of martyrdom. f At Koschumbarg four 
poor laborers were shut up for five months in secret, 
receiving a pittance of food only twice a week. | But 
the Jesuits finding these extremities ineffectual, and 
fearing the effects of this resistance concluded to ban- 
ish the victims. At Gyczin sixty of the sons of cit- 
izens were forcibly consigned to the Jesuits for in- 
struction at the expense of the town by order of Wald- 
stein.§ The Lord Talo compelled his tenants by sa- 
bre to fall on their knees before the host. Mitrowsky 
tortured his tenants until they abj ured. Kolourat forced 
open the mouths of his tenants with the muzzles of 
muskets and holding them open with a stick com- 

* K. Shroeter, Exulantenhistorie, p. ii8. 

f Hist. Persec. Ch. 103, § 14, and Am, Kom. Hist. Fratrum, p. 
44. 

X Pist. Persec. Gh. 103, § 21. 

§ Foerster p. 72. At the same time Waldstein entertained a most 
scornful opinion of the monks of Seipa of whom he wrote " I am 
much astonished that the monks of Seipa should already have used 
up the 2,000 crowns; I do not doubt that they have spent them but it 
was with the girls of evil life and other vagabonds, according to their 
custom." Letter of Aug, 19, 1627. 



648 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

pelled the wretches to swallow the host. Others at 
Kniezovsky and many other places were driven like 
cattle at the sword's point to conversion.*- May i, 
1629, a new decree permitted protestant wives to re- 
main in the country during the life of their husbands; 
but on the death of the latter the widows were to be 
banished and their property confiscated. Protestant 
women were forbidden to attend marriages and festi- 
vals ; and they were permitted only the lowest place 
on all occasions. Widows and daughters of wealthy 
protestants were united in marriage with or without 
their consent to Catholics or newly converted as a rec- 
ompense to the latter. 

At the commencehient of these atrocities the com- 
missioners of reformation were not over scrupulous 
in accepting abjurations for a consideration. They 
required in adults a belief in the holiness of the 
church, and a recognition of the pope as the supreme 
head in the interest of public order. They were con- 
tent if abjuration was made in the following formula, 

— "I poor and miserable sinner, acknowledge and 

confess to you, venerable father, in the place of God^ 
the very holy virgin and all the saints, that I have reg- 
ularly adhered a long time to the accursed, impious 
and heretical worship that they call evangelical, that 
I have lived in deep sin, that I have assisted at their 
abominable communion, and have eaten there of noth- 
ing but a morsel of vile bread and have drunk only 
of vile wine. But now I protest with all my strength 
against so silly a doctrine, so damnable and unfounded, 
and I promise to believe in it no more but to curse 
and persecute it, and no longer agree to take part in 

* Hist. Persec. Ch 103, § 15 etc. etc. 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 649 

it. So help me God, the immaculate virgin Mary 
and all the saints."* 

The reign of terror had now continued uninterrupted 
for eight years; and our wonder must be not that the 
remnant of the inhabitants finally succumbed, at least 
outwardly, but that they endured the fearful ordeal 
so long. In fact the atrocities deepened in horror in 
proportion to the tenacity of passive resistance of the 
Bohemian peasants. 

Longer time, more extreme cruelty, and more 
barbarous outrages were needed to destroy all ap- 
parent traces of reform in the unresisting peas- 
ants than in the nobles and citizens. In some 
cases indeed the miserable cottiers, driven to utter 
despair by remorseless persecution and suffering, set 
fire to their cottages and fled to the wilds. Better 
for them to be among the beasts than among the 
"booted missionaries" commanded by Capuchins. The 

* The text is given by Mohnike, p. 143. 

A most exhaustive and exact profession of Catholic faith was imposed 
on the converted. Every possible detail of belief that could contra- 
dict evangelical doctrine was introduced into this most specifically ex- 
acting formula. It was accompanied by a dreadful anathema, oath 
and confirmation cf the oath expressed in the severest terms. The 
anathema runs as follows; 

•I. The Catholic Roman religion sitb una being then from all points 
of view, and in all its acceptations the only true, and the evangelical 
religion being deceitful, erroneous, heretical, diabolical, and noxious, 
we curse all those who have taught us that impious aud repulsive doc- 
trine. 

2. I curse all my parents who have conceived me of heretical 
blood. 

3. I curse all those who caused me to doubt of the holy Roman re- 
ligion. 

4. I curse all those who have presented to me the accursed chalice. 

5. I curse myself for having approached with my lips that hereti- 
cal chalice which I had no right to taste. ' 

6. I curse the books which I have read and which enclose and con- 
tain the impious doctrines of the heretics. 

7. I curse all the labor and toil performed while I was still plunged 
in the errors of heresy, that they may be of no use to me before God, 
either now or in the day of the last judgment. 



650 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

inhabitants of Lessa committed their town to the flames 
on the approach of the commissioners and fled in a 
confused crowd where they could. When famine com- 
pelled these creatures to venture into other villages 
they were invariably confronted b}?^ informers. Heavy 
fines awaited compassionate assistance or concealment. 
A decree of 3rd of March, 1628, fixed the penalty at 
one hundred dollars a night for each person received 
or hidden. The villagers were carefully informed that 
flight was impossible as the emperor had guarded the 
roads. 

In rare instances extremity of suffering drove the 
despairing to open revolt; but want of time, means, 
or union doomed such efforts only to disaster. Stung 
by the bitterness of their agony the peasants of upper 
Austria dared to combine. Two armies were crushed 
by their frenzied struggles, and the emperor grew se- 
riously alarmed. But only additional bloodshed and 
excess of severity resulted at the hands of Count Pap- 
penheim. Goaded by constant outrage the tenants 
of the countess of Wartenberg rose against her at 
Morgenthal, and left her dead, following the example 
of those of Lord de Wenda near Kuttenberg in 1625 
In 1627 some thousands of peasants seized the town 
of Khurzim, and several hundreds were slain, the 
leaders quartered, many others mutilated by the nose 
or ears being cut off, or branded on the back or fore- 
head with hot iron. In March, 1628, four thousand 
of the dependents of Count Serzky in the circle of 
Koniggratz rose, slaughtered the commissioner, Father 
Camille, a benedictine, attempted to fortify them- 
selves at Neuhaus and demanded a restoration of the 
utraquist teachers. 
. Waldstein's iron-bound troopers found little diffi- 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 651 

culty In crushing this emeute of maddened wretches 
"who fell before him as birds before the fowler. " A 
multitude of prisoners as doomed to torture and 
death in the market place of Prague on the nth of May. 
The duke of Friedland's own tenants furiously re- 
volted in 1629, slaughtered the missionary, and died 
under the sword. In the Vzetimenne mountains in 
Moravia parties of desperate peasants sustained them- 
selves against the imperial armies until 1632. But 
these were only spasmodic struggles. In isolated cases 
also the death of some commissioner by sudden stroke 
provoked by intolerably pitiless tyranny revealed the 
smouldering fire beneath the apparently dead surface. 
The task undertaken by the commissioners, always 
perilous, was impracticable without armed troops. In 
1629 the Jesuit, Matthias Burnatius, invoked the aid of 
dragoons because his hearers paid little heed to his 
teaching. But the angry people slew him with axes 
and pitchforks at Rovensko. Isolated fanatics also 
wreaked vengeance on individual priests caught un- 
awares in the mountains or open plains, believing such 
punishment demanded by blood unjustly shed. With 
the other afflictions of the pestilence — natural accom- 
paniment of want and exposure, many of the imperial 
agents died, both lay and clerical. In such cases de- 
votion to the sick hardly compensated for the inflic- 
tion of those privations wherein the malady itself 
found its strength. At Joachimstahl the Dominican 
George Landherr had incautiously ventured to begin 
the reformation. He was hooted and stoned by the 
angry crowd. Benches were overthrown, stones flung, 
and the hapless monk chased away with cries of de- 
nunciation as the messenger of Satan. The irritated 
priest sought revenge by urgently requesting troops. 



652 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

"The best remedy," he said, "would be to dispatch 
hither a few hundred soldiers. They would know 
how to master these rebels." 

Only in the wildest spots could now be found a 
remnant of the reformed. Here under the shelter of 
rocks and trees a few worshipers dared assemble. A 
small bell tinkled to announce the service. The pray- 
ers were said, the hymns were sung as in their fathers' 
days. The communion supper partaken of after the 
method of the Master and his apostles, as they claimed; 
and with stealthy steps these worshipers retired by 
one and two, and retreated into their obscurity. Only 
the forest trees and coverts heard the sound of the 
gentle hymn; but to Bohemian ears the trees and 
rocks seem to re-echo the same soft melodies still. 

As under similar sufferings before and since, notably 
in the days of Joan of Arc in France, and of the Ca- 
misards of the Cevennes, the human nervous system 
yielded to the extremity of painful tension; and wild 
hallucinations seized the excited imaginations of the 
sufferers. Reason reeled in fact, and the brain stim 
ulated to frenzy became the subject and seat of imag- 
ined visions, and supernatural apparitions. Wondrous 
signs in heaven shone before the eyes, and tokens of 
divine wrath or pity flamed before the deluded imag- 
ination. Hence wild extravagances of speech and of 
seeming prophecy. Woes Avere denounced on perse- 
cutors and antichrists. Of these visionaries the most 
conspicuous, George Balthasar, became noted for ex- 
cess of zeal that seemed inspired to those who were 
themselves also half crazy from nervous suffering. 
His ravings caused his arrest and decapitation at 
Prague; and the body of the poor victim of starvation 
and mental excitement quartered before men's eyes 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 653 

was supposed to provide a warning against similar 
results of madness caused by want and misery in the 
spectators. August 14, 1629. In all such cases both 
in France and Bohemia the visions ceased when food 
and quietness became assured. Under Ferdinand and 
Urban such murders were heralded as the judg- 
ments of God. 

After the )'ear 1627, according to Balbinus, three 
hundred missionaries of the Jesuit order alone trav- 
ersed Bohemia.* One of these, Andr6 Matsch, boasted 
of having converted ten thousand heretics, by the 
means above detailed. Another still more conspicuous 
handed to his superiors a list of 33,140 heretics con- 
verted by his persuasive eloquencelf What unlim.- 
ited anguish, what uspeakable horrors, vhat extremi- 
ties of woe were concentrated in that report! Com- 
manders of squadrons boasted profanely of their tri- 
umphs. Count Hannibal of Dohna, one of the most 
merciless, of these vaunted immediately after his vio- 
lent subjugation of Glogau that he was a greater saint 
even than Peter. "He converted only three thousand 
persons by his sermon on Pentecost," exclaimed the 
dragoon smiling, "but this day I have converted more 
without even taking the trouble to preach." By such 
methods, and by such agents, a great nation, and 
for centuries a foremost nation, was obliterated. 

During the dreadful process thousands of villages 
totally disappeared. Cities were red,uced to hamlets, 
towns to a few hovels. Before the "conversion" Bo- 
hemia contained thirty thousand communes, all pop- 
ulous and happy. After 1648 not one third remained 
and even of those discoverable, many existed in little 

* Hurter, III, p. 176. Balbinus IV. p. 146. 

f Balbinus Miscellanea IV, p. 142. 



654 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

more than in name, and with an appearance only of 
desolation.* In 1635 an official report on the state of 
the country declares, "The condition of the country 
is miserable and afflicting; one meets neither man nor 
animal, not even a dog or cat in the greater number of 
the villages. In the cities and towns and open country 
a vast number of houses are dilapidated, or destroyed, 
and the fields are left to run wild." In addition to 
this material destruction every trace of literature that 
could recall the ancient culture and national traditions 
was carefully obliterated. During more than a cen- 
tury the search for books continued, and every stray 
volume was mercilessly destro3^ed. Every effort was 
made to uproot the Chekh language which was declared 
to be the prime source of heresy, in order to efface all 
national memory from future generations. So utter 
became the destitution that the miserable remnant of 
cultivators was obliged to yoke themselves men and 
women to wretched ploughs in order to scratch the 
weedy soil for a scanty crop. The pursuit of books 
ceased not even in the year 1848. Many persons now 
living in America and Bohemia distinctly remember 
the Catholic clergy searching for, seizing and openly 
destroying books throughout Bohemia in 1848-9 after 
the collapse of the national demonstration of that year. 
That books and the means of ordinary education are 
permitted now is not due to the encouragement of 
learning by their rulers, A rigid censorship is still 
maintained. 

According to careful computations about 36,000 
families fled. Of these the greater number were per- 
sons of some affluence ; the cultured, the better, the 

* Hurler III, p. 186. Balbinus in his epitome is constrained to 
avow " his wonder that, after so many proscriptions, massacres, ex- 
patriations, expulsions, any inhabitants survived." p. 630. 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 655 

more excellent elements. But thousands more disap- 
peared across the frontier; and at the close of the 
awful struggle out of a population of four millions 
less than eight hundred thousand starvelings re- 
mained! All the world has observed that in the anni- 
hilation of a nation, the obliteration of a splendid civi- 
lization, the degradation of a people, and the efface- 
ment of a great literature, the triumph was complete. 
But in proportion to the fullness of the success was 
the impoverishment of the world. Austria would to- 
day be thankful to have the old strength of Bohemia 
at her side. 

One of the most significant facts connected with 
these events is the stern repression of all information, 
as far as strictest surveillance could effect it, concern- 
nig the closing tragedy of Bohemia. The European 
and American publics have been diligently deprived of 
all allusions to this momentous episode in history. 
The authors of the tragedy may be compelled 1 y 
shame to conceal their work. Books on the subject 
have always been sedulously suppressed. But they 
still live. One library after another has given up a 
volume. Archives have revealed facts. Students 
have laboriously collected documents. One of the most 
important treatises concerning the dying agony of Bo- 
hemia, the "Historia Persecutionum," by John Amos 
Komensky the last bishop of the United Brethren, 
and the most distinguished educator in Europe in the 
seventeenth century, and an exile, was early sought 
out for destruction. Every procurable copy was de- 
stroyed. But very scarce although the book is, it still 
exists. There lies a copy before the writer at this 
moment, and its contents have largely supplied the 
details here presented. It is the undisputed testimony 



656 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of an eyewitness. In addition to this book the entire 
valuable library collected by Komensky at Les- 
no, after a laborious life of stud)' and of literary' effort, 
was utterly destroyed by the Polish allies of Ferdinand. 

The valiant and persistent Mansfeld being in 
fact abandoned by his allies, seeing his troops daily 
diminishing from disease, disbanded his army, sold 
his remaining artillery and stores to the basha of Buda, 
and with only a staff of twelve officers retired through 
Bosnia intending to reach Venetian territory. But a 
fever terminated his noble career at Zara. Thus was 
Ferdinand delivered from an irreconcilable, gallant, 
and resourceful opponent, who had often brought dis 
may to the house of Austria.* The same year died 
also Christian of Brunswick in his 2gth year at Wol- 
fenbuttel.f 

During these proceedings the king of Denmark had 
been wholly expelled from Germany by Tilly and Wald- 
stein; and although the Catholic states in a meeting 
at Wurtzburg demanded the disbanding of Waldstein's 
excessive army, and the suppression of the licentious 
conduct of the remainder, yet Ferdinand successfully 
appealed to their animosity against the protestants. 
The electors also, assembled at Mulhausen in 1627 
recommended peace with Denmark; and with respect 
to the elector Palatine, who had been induced by 
James I. to submit unconditionally to the emperor in 
order to save his dominions, they declared that as 
author of the commotion he should renounce the crown 
of Bohemia and the electoral dignity, and that the 
emperor should indemnify himself b}'^ the confiscation 

* Struvius p. 1251. n. 72. Schmidt IX. p. 283. 

f Supposed to be poison, really of tape worm, a disease not then un- 
derstood, 




John Amos Komensky. 



MONKS, JESUITS, CRUELTIES 657 

of the whole or part of the Palatinate. Should he re- 
fuse they resolved to unite with the emperor against 
hiin and his adherents. So intensely blind did they 
still remain to Ferdinand's deep duplicity. At the in- 
stigation of Ferdinand himself the Catholics now de- 
manded restitution of all ecclesiastical benefices ap- 
propriated by protestants since the peace of Passau in 
opposition to the ecclesiastical reservation. 

Ferdinand next transferred the electorate perma- 
nentl}' to the house of Bavaria. He also conferred on 
the new elector ths Upper Palatinate, with that part 
of the Lower Palatinate that lay on the right bank of 
the river. This grant was accompanied by a compact 
of indemnification should Bavaria be despoiled of this 
territory at a general peace. The rich see of Halbert- 
stadt with those of Strasburg and Passau were be- 
stowed on Leopold William; and the see of Magde- 
burg was declared escheated to Augustus, son of the 
elector of Saxony, by the canons ; but this nomination 
was annulled by the pope, and this see also given to 
Leopold William son of Ferdinand. The nomination 
to the wealthy abbey of Hirtzcheld, wrested from the 
landgrave of Hesse, and the see of Bremen were also 
bestowed on the same rapacious pluralist. Ferdinand 
next determined to obtain the control of the Baltic 
and to create a fleet. The Hanseatic towns repelled 
his proposals; and the emperor seized all the ports 
from Kiel to Colberg. The dukes of Mecklenburg 
were put under ban, their titles and estates transferred 
to Waldstein, with the dignity of duke of Mecklen- 
burg, and the offices of generalissimo by land, and 
grand admiral of the sea. Waldstein assembled fif- 
teen ships at Wesmar, and attacked Pomerania with- 
out excuse or the pretense of any. Stralsund defied 



658 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and baffled his utmost efforts, although he vowed to re- 
duce the place" even if bound to heaven with chains 
of adamant." A reinforcement from Gustavus Adol- 
phus saved the fortress and Waldstein sullenly re- 
tired. Ferdinand oppressed at once by embarrassment 
in Italy, in Poland, and in the camp of Waldstein 
arising from the imperious demands of this almost om- 
nipotent general, and in the demands of the Catholic 
league, consented to a congress 'or peace at Lubec, 
May, 1629, under the elector of Brandenburg. By 
the truce here concluded Denmark received favorable 
terms; and the dukes of Mecklenburg and the elector 
Palatine were left to their fate. The ambassadors of 
the king of Sweden were disdainfull}' refused admission, 
and the title of king refused to their sovereign. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED. 

On the conclusion of the peace of Lubec not an en- 
emy remained in arms. But instigated by Spain, the 
Jesuits, and the Catholic league, and deluded by the 
extravagant vauntings of Waldstein, Ferdinand deter- 
mined to extirpate protestant doctrines in church and 
state utterly. Europe seemed to be at his feet. 
Charles I. of England at that moment struggled to 
follow Ferdinand's example. France torn with intes- 
tine civil war, the Netherlands awed from without and 
divided within, the Turks agitated b)' their own con- 
tentions, Bethlehem Gabor sinking to his death and 
glad to be at peace, Denmark submissive and humil- 
iated, Poland in alliance, formed a combination of op- 
portunities for asserting, perhaps of acquiring unlim- 
ited dominion in the center of Europe. Being thus 
released from all apprehensions from without Ferdi- 
nand directed his full fury against his hereditary 
states. By general mandate all Lutheran books were 
suppressed and utterly destroyed throughout Austria ; 
all baptisms, marriages and other formal religious 
acts performed by protestant preachers were annulled; 
and thus all property, rights of inheritance, and civil 
status wrung at one instant from the whole protestant 
population; protestants were expelled from all civil 
offices; and all persons of every rank and condition 

659 



66o HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

compelled to receive Catholic instruction and attend 
Catholic worship on every occasion. 

In the midst of these horrors, and during the ex- 
tremity of agony inflicted on Bohemia, Ferdinand 
placidly proceeded to Prague to nominate and crown 
his son as his successor. By affected clemency he as- 
sumed to confirm the estates in their power of taxa- 
tion, and some other privileges bearing heavily on the 
nation, but abolished the right of election of a king, 
prohibited the Bohemian language in all public trans- 
actions, and formally abrogated the edict of toleration, 
and declared that he would permit no religion except 
the Catholic in his dominions. March 6, 1629, Ferdi- 
nand published his long threatened Edict of Restitu- 
tion, which at once restored all ecclesiastical property 
secularized since the peace of Passau, and ordered the 
immediate restoration of all benefices. He also author- 
ized Catholic prelates to use every means for the extir- 
pation of protestant doctrines in their territories, and 
limited the benefits of this religious peace to Catholics, 
and members of the confession of Augsburg, all other 
sects, especially Calvmists being excluded by name. 
Finally he denounced the ban of the empire against 
all opponents of this order, and commanded all per- 
sons in his empire to aid diligently in enforcing it. 
The same system was remorselessly pursued in lower 
Saxony; at Halbertstadt and Magdeburg, in Suabia, 
Franconia and Westphalia. In Ulm, Augsburg, Rat- 
isbon, and other important towns all property of every 
description was restored to tlie Catholics, and the 
protestant religion utterly excluded. The Catholic 
prelates hastened to imitate this example in their do- 
mains. These proceedings were proposed as a prelude 
to the total extermination of all protestants. 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 66 1 

At this fatal point the extravagant pretensions and 
designs of the emperor alarmed all persons alike. 
The enormous greed of the emperor, his famil}', de- 
pendents and favorites, announced an extreme peril from 
the irresistible means of oppression thus conferred. The 
atrocious depredations of the imperial army committed 
against all alike created consternation. The catholics 
found they had raised up a monstrous tyranny; and the 
protestants discovered how they had been duped. The 
duke of Bavaria openly exhibited his disgust at the 
extreme elevation reached by a haughty and myster- 
ious rival; and like Maurice of Saxony became alarmed 
at the emperor's intention to reduce the value of the 
electoral dignity recently conferred. He therefore se- 
cretly united with Richelieu, and other enemies of Aus- 
tria. At his suggestion the league assembled at Heid- 
elberg, March, 1629; and declared that until they had 
been indemnified, or received a pledge for the pay- 
ment of their expenses, they would neither disband a 
soldier, nor relinquish a foot of territory, ecclesias- 
tical or secular, "demand it who will,"* At the same 
moment the absence of his best troops in Poland, the 
Grisons, Italy and elsewhere rendered Ferdinand un- 
able to resist. All parties, princes and states, Catho- 
lics and reformed demanded the dismissal of Wald- 
stein as the most dangerous offender. His licentious 
army of marauders had ruined Germany. He had lev- 
ied sixty millions of dollars on the states, and created 
universal havoc. His host of brigands are thus de- 
scribed by Schiller : 

Wrangel. 

"Great God in heaven! Have these people here 
No house and home, no fireside and no altar?" 

* Heinrich VI, p. 500. Falkenstein II, p. 648. 



662 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

Waldstein 

"I will explain that to you how it stands, 
The Austrian has a country, aye and loves it, 
And has good cause to love it; but this army 
That calls itself imperial, — this that houses 
Here in Bohemia, — this has none, no country. 
This is an outcast of all foreign lands. 
Unclaimed by town or tribe, to whom belongs 
Nothing except the universal sun." 

In truth the league fought for some principle how- 
ever severe; but Waldstein's horde of banditti, who 
represented imperial power, were mere banded sav- 
ages let loose. Among such wretches Waldstein 
moved — glided — silent, mysterious, known to be in 
fellowship with the spirits, and probably with the evil 
one; and through some supernal or infernal agency, 
superior even to fate. 

A haughty conqueror at the head of a host of 150,000 
of such wretches might well create alarm. Ferdinand, 
despising Sweden, submitted to the stern demands; 
and with strong proof and abundant expression of re- 
gret and gratitude demanded his haughty commander's 
resignation. In July, 1630, Waldstein quietly received 
the message. Battista Seni had read the stellar prog- 
nostications with him; foretold future grandeur, and 
persuaded the intractable soul that only a temporary 
retirement was announced by the planetary signs. "By 
these tokens I know your message," observed Wald- 
stein, "the ascendent of the duke of Bavaria is superior 
to that of the emperor. I will obey." The emperor 
found the electoral diet held by him at Ratisbon in 
tractable; and he was mortified by his failure to pro- 
cure the election of his son. He discovered also that 
he had been duped by France; and that his boundless 
schemes had created and combined new and powerful 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 663 

antagonists both in the empire and beyond its fron- 
tiers. "A capuchin friar," he frequently exclaimed, 
"has disarmed me with his rosary, and covered six 
electoral caps with his cowl." 

Ferdinand's vaunting ambition and furious intol- 
erance had overreached themselves The character, tal- 
ents,and resources of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Swe- 
den, and his former attempts to interpose in the relig- 
ious contest in Germany and Bohemia had not escaped 
the discerning eye of Cardinal Richelieu. No minister 
of France could perceive without deep concern, and 
even alarm, the unlimited elevation of Austrian power, 
especially in the hands of so unscrupulous, crafty and 
ferocious a ruler as Ferdinand, who desisted from no 
extremity of violence against even his own best sub- 
jects. Gustavus was courted by the French court, but 
would not bind himself until he could secure the re- 
spectful co-operation and not the protection or pat- 
ronage of France. The opportune moment seemed to 
have arrived. Although his overtures to the protest- 
ant states were coldly received, yet he concluded that 
the dissensions between the emperor and the league, 
and the alarm of England, the United Provinces, the 
Hanseatic league, and Denmark, and the friendly co- 
operation, if not active intervention of France formed 
the conjunction for which he had waited. 

The extremity of distress suffered by Bohemia and the 
protestant states, and the pronounced intention of the 
emperor to extirpate protestantism, the recent attack 
on Stralsund and menace to the Baltic, all combined 
to confirm the king in his resolution to interpose in 
Germany. His fleet was assembled at Elfsnaben, and 
with a force of 15,000 men Gustavus Adolphus de- 
parted amid the tears and plaudits of a vast multitude 



664 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

at once alarmed and enthusiastic by this novel and 
flattering spectacle. Gustavus advanced rapidly and 
being soon reinforced by troops from Sweden and some 
English auxiliaries, he drove the imperialists from al- 
most all parts in Pomerania, and menaced Frankfort, 
the key of Germany on that side. Being denied pas- 
sage through Austria by the elector of Brandenburg, 
Gustavus overran that province, and was thus enabled 
to negotiate with France on terms of equality. He 
was to receive an immediate advance of 300,000 livres 
an Annual subsidy of 1,200,000 livres and stipulated 
to maintain at his own expense and under his own di- 
rection a force of 30,000 foot and 6,000 horse. January 
13th, 1631. A meeting of the protestant estates at 
Leipzig continued its sittings from February to April. 
Here the elector of Saxony inaugurated a policy of 
independence. At his proposal they required the em- 
peror to abolish the edict of restitution; and resolved 
to raise a force of 40,000 men to prevent further levies 
and quarterings of troops and devastation of the 
country. This alliance while not naming Gustavus de- 
prived the emperor of great resources, and threatened 
to embarrass his movements and even openly attack 
him should opportunity arise. The spirit of the prot- 
estants everywhere revived; they renewed their meet- 
ings and loudly demanded the revocation of the edict of 
restitution as spoliation and plunder of property which 
they had purchased and paid for. 

Allies soon appeared; and Ferdinand finding himself 
duped in return was compelled to summon troops from 
Italy. Tilly was compelled to retire before Gustavus, 
and concentrated his force for the siege of Magdeburg 
a city that had been the first to declare for the king 
of Sweden. At this critical juncture the elector of 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 665 

Saxony by refusing to the king the possession of Des 
sau enabled Tilly to prosecute the siege without se- 
rious interference. A threat of invasion overcame his 
repugnance; but this concession came too late. After 
a most gallant defense, the city was captured by Tilly, 
May loth, 1631, and at once surrendered to the furious 
licentiousness and ferocity of the imperialists. Even 
officers of the league protested to Tilly against the 
horrible carnage. All former horrors were surpassed 
in the sack of Magdeburg. Every description of fiend- 
ish violence was perpetrated against men, women and 
children. The spirit of the Catholic league and its 
spiritual advisers was fully demonstrated in the butch- 
eries of Magdeburg. In less than ten hours the most 
rich, florishing and populous town in Germany was 
reduced to ashes; the cathedral, a single convent, and 
a few miserable huts were all that were left of its 
buildings, and hardly a thousand souls remained alive 
of thirty thousand in the morning. Aft^r two days 
to allow the cinders to cool, Tilly entered in triumph. 
Six thousand carcasses were thrown into the Elbe to 
make room for his passage through the streets. After 
hearing a Te Deum in the midst of military pomp, 
and surrounded by the mangled corpses of his mur- 
dered victims, in his savage boastfulness Tilly com- 
pared his assault to the sack of Troy and the demo- 
lition of Jerusalem.* Gustavus advanced on the side 

* Puffendorf. Harte. Schmidt. Vie de Gustave Adolphe. 

For many centuries the city of Magdeburg had enjoyed special 
privileges of law and municipal freedom. The '' Jus Magdeburgii" 
had been the common refuge of the oppressed; and a kind of appellate 
influence attracted the veneration of the constitutionalists in the sur- 
rounding nations. The law of Magdeburg was appealed to frequently 
against the despotism of Charles V. This madman had accordingly 
acquired a hatred of the free spirit of the municipality that exalted it- 
self on its ancient prescriptive rights. He strongly forbade all allu- 
sion to the law of Magdeburg; and the imperial dynasty that followed 



666 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of Magdeburg whose piteous fate infused a new ele- 
ment into the war. Near Wolmerstadt Tilly received 
his first lesson from his adversary. An assault on the 
Swedish camp hurled the presumptuous Tilly back in 
utter confusion; and his troops deserted in crowds or 
joined the standard of the invaders. Tilly turned now 
against the elector of Saxony, but was compelled to 
fall back. The elector, through his general, Arn- 
heim, who had served with great distinction under 
Waldstein but had abandoned that service in disgust, 
concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Gus- 
tavus September i, 1631 ; and the two commanders 
united their forces before Leipzig. Here on the 7th 
of September Tilly suffered a total and crushing de- 
feat with the loss of all his artillery and baggage. 
Scarcely 2,000 men remained under his standard. Gus- 
tavus advanced to the heart of Germany' and the elec- 
tor of Saxony recovered the kingdom of Bohemia. 
Arnheim took in succession Aussig, Leitmeritz, Schlan, 
Melnik, Teschen, and the whole district bordering 
on Lusatia and Saxony. 

Again the heart of Bohemia revived. The Saxons 
advanced to Prague; the governor and chief nobles 
retired in haste and the capital capitulated on the me- 
diation of Count Thurn. Returning in triumph over 
the bridge by which he had departed a fugitive Thurn 
ordered taken down the still exposed heads of his 
former companions; had them wrapped in black sat- 
in, and honorably interred. The presence of the Saxon 
deliverers, even at this late day, who seemed now 
convinced that the abandonment of friends and allies 
for a narrow and selfish policy is not the wisest con- 

him, extirpated the constitionalism of Magdeburg as a menace to 
their absolutist tyranny. 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 667 

duct, revived the dormant spirit of the protestant 
population. The preachers were restored, the princi- 
pal churches, schools recovered, the Jesuits expelled, 
and all former privileges revived and exercised. This 
brief revival of the nationalist spirit is an integral 
portion and true element of the story of Bohemia. It 
was a re-assertion of the rights, privileges and free 
constitution of the country. It was Bohemia as of 
old struggling with a gasp back to life again. Weak 
though the effort was necessarily it contained the real 
spirit and objects of Bohemian aspirations. It formed 
a real, and genuine growth from the roots of the old 
tree now battered and hacked almost out of recogni- 
tion ; and if allowed to grow would have strengthened 
into a flourishing resuscitation of the original stock. 
The elector seized the artillery and magazines; and 
retaliated on the imperial partizans the excesses per- 
petrated by them. Catholic houses were unsparingly 
plundered, and the occupants driven from the country; 
and as the supporters of the emperor had seized the 
property of the population, scarcely a vestige of their 
plunder now remained with themselves. 

Ferdinand assembled a new army in Bohemia; and 
Gustavus advanced toward Bavaria, and saved Nurem- 
berg threatened with the fate of Magdeburg. At the 
passage of the Leek a severe conflict occurred; and 
here Tilly received a mortal wound, his leg being shat- 
tered by the shot of a falconet. Conveyed in desper- 
ate agony to Ingolstadt he died there, at the age of 
of seventy-three. His actions fully explain his charac- 
ter. Shortly afterward Gustavus entered Munich in 
triumph, accompanied by the unfortunate elector Pal- 
atine. 

At this moment the position of the emperor seemed 



668 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

well nigh desperate. A victorious invader, at the head 
of an army strong in tried courage and discipline, 
had mastered the greater part of German}^, and con- 
trolled the country from the Baltic to the French fron- 
tier, and now prepared to assail Austria. Bohemia 
was in the hands of the elector of Saxony, who found 
little obstacle to an advance on Vienna. The imperial 
dominions, wasted by the ruinous contest, lay open to 
any force ready to march in. Neither Ferdinand nor 
his son was capable of a military command and could 
only hurl mysterious anathemas of war. In his de- 
spair the emperor turned in all humiliation to his dis- 
graced commander — Waldstein. After his dismissal this 
personage had retired to Prague ; and here resided in 
more than princely splendor. More haughty and mys- 
terious than ever he yet surrounded himself with all 
the pomp of a great retinue, and the display of un- 
paralleled grandeur. Enveloped with wonder, and 
the object of superstitious awe, Waldstein passed whole 
nights in a starry tower constructed in imitation of 
the famed Giralda at Seville but for a very different 
purpose. Attempts to forecast his fate by divination 
under the tuition of his astrologer, Battista Seni, alone 
soothed his fatalistic spirit, and mollified his tendency 
to paroxysms of rage. Above all he could bear no 
noise; no clock might sound, no dog might bark, or 
spur jangle in his hearing. A cordon of sentries 
around his palace prevented the least disturbing sound. 
Six barons and as many knights attended his person. 
Sixty pages awaited his will. A hundred guests daily 
were welcomed at his table; and even his horses fed 
from marble mangers. Twelve coaches of state and 
fifty carriages conveyed his suite when he journeyed; 
the same number of wagons conveyed his plate and 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 669 

baggage. One hundred houses in Prague were demol- 
ished to furnish a site for his palace, and the six gates 
opened only by permission of watchful sentinels.* 

On the advance of the Saxons to Prague Waldstein 
would not descend to notice the interruption. Rather 
he hastened the surrender of the city. He corre- 
sponded with Arnheim and Gustavus and maintained 
paid informers even among the ministers of the impe- 
rial court. To this gloomy and indignant recluse Fer- 
dinand's pride felt compelled to humble itself. The 
most degrading conditions were imposed. As Gusta- 
vus rapidly advanced from the Rhine to the Danube 
the last hope of Austria and the Catholic cause seemed 
to rest on the inexplicable star-gazer, as the man of 
destiny. His conditions were imperative in the present 
alarming conjuncture. Waldstein became generalis- 
simo of the imperial and Spanish forces; the emperor 
and his son were forbidden to enter his camp; he nom- 
inated all officers and distributed all rewards; no im- 
perial safe conduct was valid without his confirma- 
tion. He levied conttibutions with no restriction, dis- 
posed of confiscated property independently of any 
tribunal; no truce was valid without his approval; 
and his demands for men and money must be promptly 
obeyed. He was confirmed, in repayment of all ex- 
penses, in the dukedom of Mecklenburg ; a retreat to 
his estates; and on the re-conquest of Bohemia the em- 
peror must reside at Prague. 

On these conditions Waldstein took the field. His 
name and his rapacity filled his ranks as before. Ad- 
vancing to Prague, he effected its surrender, while the 
Saxons successfully retreated; and dislodged the in- 

* See the itinerary of Dr. Carve chaplain of Devereux, one of the 
conspirators who murdered Waldstein: also Schiller's Thirty-Years' 
War. 



670 HIS 2 OR Y OF B O HEM I A 

vaders from all posts in Bohemia. Inactive at Leit- 
meritz he saw his troops devastate Bavaria, as a return 
compliment. On the approach of Gustavus to Austria, 
Waldstein leaving a corps at Leitmeritz formed a 
junction with the elector of Bavaria at Egra. With a 
force now swelled to 60,000 men he advanced toward 
Nuremburg. Finding Gustavus strongly intrenched 
Waldstein with a force of triple the number remained 
eight weeks in sight of the Swedish camp. Gustavus 
drew in his corps from Bavaria, Suabia, Lower Sax- 
on}', Franconia and the forces of his allies. These 
troops led by the duke of Saxe Weimar, John Banner, 
the landgrave of Hesse, and chancelor Oxenstiern, ren- 
dered Gustavus too strong to be assailed. An attack 
on Waldstein did not succeed; and the armies still 
watched each other for a fortnight. The king struck his 
tents and secured Nuremberg. Waldstein also retired 
with less than half of his original force. Both com- 
batants reinforced by allies and garrisons approached 
each other at Lutzen between Leipzig and Weissenfels, 
November, 1632. Here a desperate contest ensued. 
During the fierce melee the king fell mortally wounded 
as he galloped toward his left wing threatened by 
Pappenheim. Under the duke of Saxe Weimar the 
Swedish right broke the left wing of the imperialists 
irretrievably. The left also swept down the imperial 
infantry. At this point Pappenheim approached with 
fresh troops; but a mortal wound laid him low; and 
the confusion became irreparable. All the efforts of 
Waldstein could not prevent an utter rout, and under 
cover of a fog he led away the remnant of his troops, 
leaving the field and all his artillery to the enemy. 
This signal victory was dearly purchased by the loss 
of the illustrious king of Sweden. 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 671 

On returning to Bohemia, Waldstein executed sev- 
enteen of his officers for cowardice, thus endeavoring 
to conceal his own deep chagrin. He rewarded Octa- 
vius Piccolomini with 10,000 dollars of Bohemian 
money; and conferred on General Hoik, a Danish offi- 
cer, his choice of four estates in Bohemia, each of 
which contained from sixteen to eighteen villages. 
The following May he assembled his army between 
Pilsen and Egra* and marched to Koniggratz. By 
skillful movements he recovered Silesia; and once 
more prepared to renew his terrible march to the Bal- 
tic. At this point commences the most tragic episode 
in the course of this disatrous conflict. The arrogant 
demands of Waldstein on his restoration had created 
dissembled hatred. His renewed greatness, now that 
his dreaded adversary was dead, encouraged and in- 
cited the revengeful ire of his rivals and his detract- 
ors. In the court of Ferdinand only fear could pro- 
duce reasonableness; and now that the worst fear had 
passed the dark spirit of truculence in intolerance con- 
spired against the man whose services created a sense 
of hatred arising from a consciousness of obligation. 
Waldstein had been discovered to possess by no means 
unreserved submissiveness to the ecclesiastical dom- 
ination then paramount. He maintained many prot- 
estant officers in his service, all in prominent po- 
sitions. He made no distinctions. His sentiments 
when uttered discovered not a little asperity to the 
virulent intolerance of the court; and a strong regard 
for his native land Bohemia betrayed itself on many 
occasions. Perhaps he aspired to the Boliemian crown; 
he may have meditated a campaign against the Turks; 
the dark and tortuous intrigues of the court again 

* Schiller has left us an immortal description of this encampment. 



672 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

conspired, this time not for his disgrace but for his 
destruction. Not an amiable character in truth was 
this Waldstein; but he did not merit assassination 
at the hands of the ingrate and remorseless bigot he 
had served so well. Knowing his proscription at court, 
and the secret determination to destroy him, the duke 
of Friedland did correspond with the leaders of the 
allies. This proceeding seems to have been suggested 
by his danger and resentment. He did make propo- 
sals to seize Prague, surrender Pilsen and Egra, and 
join the Swedes and Saxons. He had discovered that 
the restoration of imperial authority had not been the 
deep motive of the court, but the utter annihilation of 
Bohemia. Deserted by his officers and a large part 
of his arniy who had been seduced away; proscribed 
and desperate he retired to Egra where he hoped to 
maintain himself until he could conclude arrange- 
ments with the Swedes, The place was strongly forti- 
fied, and the governor, Gordon, a native of Scotland, 
was a man who owed all to his commander. Here on 
the 25th of February, 1634, Waldstein fell by the 
hands of four principal assassins, Devereux, Burke, 
Geraldine, and Gordon; the blows being struck by 
Burke and Devereux while Gordon and his associates 
seized the candles and held them aloft. Waldstein's 
generals, Tersk}^ Illo, Kinsky and Nieman the secre- 
tary, were murdered on the same occasion, in the house 
of the burgomaster of Egra, Wolf Adam Pachalbel. 
The murderers were all richly rewarded. Several of the 
real or supposed officers in complicity with Waldstein 
were next arrested at Prague, and executed, some pub- 
licl}^, others in private. At Pilsen seven colonels and 
seventeen other persons were beheaded. Gordon re- 
ceived the confiscated estates of Tersk}-; and the vast 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 673 

possessions of Waldstein were divided among Piccolo- 
mini, Gallas, Aldringer, and Leslie, another of the 
chief conspirators. 

In this very extraordinary person the elements of 
humanity were imperfectly developed. Coming as he 
did of a strong ancestry he possessed in a measure the 
Bohemian qualities of toughness of fibre, combative- 
ness, and self-wil !. Being imperfectly developed he was 
deficient in moral courage; and his nervous system 
early exhibited its defectiveness by inability to endure 
noise, or in fact harsh sound of any kind unbroken by 
other noise. In him, as in the lower orders of men, the 
savage predominated. In his imperfect condition he 
represented an inferior race. Not reasonableness or 
even reason dominated Waldstein. He was but seven 
months human; and the weird, the unnatural, the 
mysterious attracted him. Not science, but mock 
science, not statesmanship but crushing force, not 
strict command but unfeeling truculence marked his 
methods. "Hang the brute" was his constant com- 
mand on complaint made of a soldier. No moderation 
either in reward or punishment exhibited self-control. 
He was the beginning of a wonder spoiled by incom- 
pleteness. The story of Bohemia for centuries was 
a protest against such ferocious unreasonableness in 
politics and religion as that exhibited by Waldstein. 
He gathered up in himself all the elements of tyranny 
the nation had combated during the greater part of 
its struggles. In outward features Waldstein differed 
from other men. His face was oval, sallow, lean, 
hollow and worn; forehead high, fairly broad, almost 
majestic ; great space between the eyes that were gray, 
cold, piercing; hair drawn back; lips thin, firm, se- 
vere, not garrulous, much less social or sensual ; head 



674 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

defiant, haughty; nose thin, nostrils easily expanding 
as emotions swayed him; aspect gloomy, stern, terri- 
ble; a nature hard, callous; with none of the affec 
tions or sympathies of developed humanity; guided 
partly by phantasms, partly by reason; tending toward 
madness. As a soldier he crushed Bohemia; yet as a 
Bohemian he desired the dignity of his country; as a 
half necromancer, half fanatic, he would have seen all 
religions tolerated with equal indifference provided 
his own elevation under the emperor should be main- 
tained. 

The tragic death of Waldstein at once changed the 
aspect and the conditions of the war. The chief ac- 
tors on both sides were dead. Events soon proved 
that the religious and political principles contended 
for by the Swedes, Germans and Bohemians possessed 
ineradicable vitality and did not depend on any one 
man or advocate. 

During the dreadful period that ensued the fortunes 
of this wasteful war vacillated and alternated in all 
the provinces of Germany. Bohemia on several occa- 
sions became the theater of conflict and the strategic 
point sought to be secured by both contestants. Spain 
and France sent reinforcements to the opposing forces 
and multiplied the general misery. After the import- 
ant victory of Nordlingen, September 6th, 1634, the 
imperialists were enabled to make head against France 
in the north, and broke the union of the confederate 
states. Here Richelieu successfully interposed; furn- 
ished subsidies and troops, and the agreement was at 
length accepted by the confederates through the in- 
fluence of Oxenstiern. Saxony was detached again 
from the allies and joined the emperor. A pacifica- 
tion was concluded between the two powers. May 30th, 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 675 

1635, at Prague The worship of the confession of 
Augsburg was tolerated and all mediate property —not 
held directly from the emperor, secularized since the 
peace of Passau was retained. But Bohemia and all 
other Austrian possessions were formally excluded. 
The elector of Saxony was to retain Lusatia; and the 
proscription against the elector Palatine was contin- 
ued. The Calvinists were excluded from its peace; 
and the very name of protestants carefully avoided. 
In fact only Lutherans were included. The confed- 
eracy of Heilbron was dissolved and the Swedes 
threatened with ruin. 

The forcible intervention of Richelieu against 
Spain on the side of the Netherlands and the 
manful struggles of the Swedes, however, still 
kept the preponderance. The resistance of Louvain 
again disappointed the allies; but a great force under 
King Louis again saved France on the side of Alsace 
and Loraine. By the aid of France the Swedes under 
Banner again defeated the imperialists in Pomerania, 
and threatened Saxony. Encouraged by reconciliation 
with Saxony and Brandenburg Ferdinand convened 
an electoral diet at Ratisbon, September 15th, 1636, 
and by artful insinuations of the designs of France 
procured the election of his son as king of the Ro- 
mans. Soon afterward Ferdinand IL died, February 
i5> 1637. Still the war raged from Pomerania to the 
Grisons. The duke of Saxe Weimar again took the 
field. Banner recovered Pomerania and marched into 
Bohemia with 40,000 men, routed a corps of imperial- 
ists at Brandeiss and advanced to the walls of Prague. 
This attack compelled the Austrians to move toward 
Bohemia, and restored French ascendency. During 
these events the fleets of Spain had been repeatedly 



676 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

defeated by the Hollanders and French. At a diet 
held in Ratisbon in 1640, Germany demanded peace. 

Ferdinand III. could not unite the empire in hostili- 
ties, and failed to secure the supplies demanded. The 
privilege of the diet was also extended to all the states 
of the empire. The influence of the imperial house 
had greatly declined. The duke of Brunswick, and 
the new elector of Brandenburg disavowed their de- 
pendence on Vienna ; and above all a new juridical 
maxim propounded by the German jurists, that the 
elective head of Germany was not to be considered 
as succeeding to the powers or prerogatives of Con- 
stantine or Justinian shook the imperial power. The 
empire was declared to be an aristocratic body whose 
authority resided in the states, and not solely in the 
chief. The publication of the great work* maintain- 
ing these principles marks an era in German imperial 
law; but tended rather to augment foreign influence 
over individual states. 

While the war surged round Bohemia Richelieu 
breathed his last December 4th, 1642, and Louis XIII. 
May 14th, 1643. Two days earlier the Spanish power 
in the Netherlands received a crushing blow from the 
duke of Enghien at Rocroi. Spain was deprived of 
her strongf minister Olivarez. Tortstenson who suc- 
ceeded Banner carried the contest into Moravia and 
Silesia. Again the emperor collected all his forces 
in Bohemia 1643-44, and hastened them north under 
Gallas. Tortstenson drove him back in deep distress, 
and pushed on to the frontier of Bohemia now de- 
fenseless, totally defeating Gallas, November 23rd, 1644. 

His approach spread universal alarm. Leopold 

* "De Ratione Status in Tmperio Nostro Romano Germanico. '• 
Puetter's Development, VI. Ch. 7. 
f Not strong in a wise sense however, 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 677 

hastened to Prague, and the imperialists under Hats- 
feldt took a position between Budweiss and Tabor. 
At Yankovitz, March i6th, 1645, the imperial forces 
were again totally routed, their commander captured, 
and many of their principal officers killed or made 
prisoners. The emperor fled to Ratisbon, the empress 
to Gratz. Ragotsky the new waywode of Transylva- 
nia, burst into Hungary, sent 8,000 men to Tortsten- 
son before Briinn. Konigsmark, another Swedish com- 
mander, defeated Gallas, forced Saxony to conclude 
peace, and hastened to Tortstenson in Moravia. The 
emperor made peace with Ragotsky, collected his 
troops and marched against Tortstenson. The Swedes 
retired to Augsburg and the following year again ad- 
vanced to Bohemia and reduced Egra. But the 
strength of the emperor aided now by Bavaria com- 
pelled the Swedes to retire. During this interval the 
emperor convoked the Bohemian estates and obtained 
the confirmation of his son Ferdinand as successor to 
the crown. In 1647 he made a similar application to 
the diet of Hungary; removed restrictions on protest - 
ant worship, restored ninety churches, and restrained 
the insults and persecutions of the Catholics. The 
prince was crowned at Presburg, July 16, 1647. Again 
and again during these contests re-inforcements were 
drawn from Bohemia. In May, 1647, the imperialist 
army was again routed near Sustmarshausen ; their 
general, Melander killed ; and the victors were checked 
by an inundation of the Inn. Again the emperor was 
defeated in the electorate of Cologne; a Swedish 
corps occupied Silesia, and reinforced the garrison at 
Olmiitz. 

At this time a brilliant achievement of Konigsmark 
surprised Prague. Leaving his artillery and baggage 



678 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

at Rakonitz, Konigsmark reached the vicinity of Prague 
July 26th, 1648. Concealing his troops in a wood he 
approached the gate of Strohof. As he drew near the 
wall with his musketeers he heard the answers of the 
patrol and the bells of a neighboring convent. He 
allowed the patrol to finish their round and gave the 
signal of attack. The troops scaled the wall, slew 
the guard at the nearest gate, lowered the drawbridge 
to admit his cavalry, and he was master of the Little 
Town. He instantly occupied the bridge leading to 
the Old Town ; but as the alarm had been raised he 
seized the citadel and arsenal. Still the burghers re- 
sisted. Batteries v/ere opened against the New Town ; 
but the burghers still held out. Assistance and rein- 
forcements arrived to the besieged; but on the arrival 
of Charles Gustavus nephew of the late king, who 
brought a reinforcement of 10,000 men the siege was 
renewed. But after desperate efforts to take the place, 
on the approach of Glotsch, the siege of the New Town 
was raised; but Konigsmark with troops and artillery 
held possession of the Old. On the following day, 
October 25th, 1648, the inhabitants of Prague received 
the joyful intelligence of the signature of an armis- 
tice that led to the peace of Europe. 

By this momentous treaty which established the relig- 
ious status of Germany in its relations to the empire, 
Ferdinand refused to include those whom he regarded 
as his rebellious subjects in an unlimited amnesty. 
He would not relinquish any part of the right confirmed 
to the other princes of re-establishing his own religion 
in his own territories, beyond the concessions already 
made at the peace of Prague. The dukes and princes 
of Silesia, and the town of Breslau obtained the same 
religious freedom as before the war; and three prot- 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 679 

estant churches were permitted outside the towns of 
Schveidnitz, Jauer and Glogau. The other protest- 
ant nobles of Silesia and Austria above the Ems were 
not forced to emigrate, or prevented from attending 
worship beyond the bounds of Austrian territory. 
Those who had emigrated from Bohemia were allowed 
to return, on condition of submitting to the laws and 
conforming to the established regulations respecting 
religion; and only those persons were restored to their 
confiscated property who had taken up arms since 
1630, and were termed not disobedient subjects, but 
adherents of France or Sweden. 

Thus the only real success obtained by the dreadful 
contest of thirty years consisted in the power to strike 
down the ancient nationality of Bohemia; extinguish 
its constitution and institutions; deny to its people 
their own religion ; and convert to the glory of Austria 
a kingly title perverted to the assertion of a monarchy 
based on claims wholly adverse to those it nominally 
represented. The title of king of Bohemia, the proud- 
est borne by the chief of the Austrian house, does not 
and never did mean king of a certain territory geo- 
graphically named Bohemia. It meant and it means 
still king of that nation that maintained first and last 
in continental Europe a political system founded on 
the free right to elect the sovereign, and with the 
sovereign to control the entire political, social, legal 
and constitutional power and administration of the 
country. Stripped of these native rights the title of 
king of Bohemia is but an empty phrase: and even 
that phrase the Austrian sovereign does not venture 
to assume after the legal formalities of a coronation. 

From that day Bohemia lay as dead. Although on 
subsequent occasions of moment armies trod her soil 



68o HIS TOR Y OF B O BE MIA 

yet their march lay over the grave of the nation. In 
the mournful words of the native historian, a Catholic 
and an Austrian, "The records of history scarcely 
furnish an example of such a change as Bohemia un- 
derwent during the reign of Ferdinand II. In 1620, 
the monks and a few of the nobility only excepted, 
the whole country was entirely protestant ; at the death 
of Ferdinand, it was in appearance at least. Catholic. 
Until the battle of the White Mountain the states en- 
joyed more exclusive privileges than the parliament 
of England; they enacted laws, imposed taxes, con- 
tracted alliances, declared war and peace, and ' chose 
or confirmed their kings; but all these they now lost. 
"The Bohemian language, which was used in all 
the courts of justice and was in high estimation among 
the nobles, fell into contempt, the inhabitants of the 
towns began to be ashamed of their native tongue 
which was confined to the villages and called the lan- 
guage of peasants. The arts and sciences, so highly 
cultivated and esteemed under Maximilian and Ru- 
dolph, sank beyond recovery. During the period 
which immediately followed the banishment of the 
protestants, Bohemia scarcely produced one man who 
became eminent in any branch of learning. The Car- 
olinum university fell under the direction of the Jes- 
uits or was suppressed; by order of the pope all pro- 
motions were stopped and no academical honors con- 
ferred. * * The greater part of the schools were 
conducted by Jesuits and other monkish orders and 
nothing taught therein but bad Latin. It cannot be 
denied that several of the Jesuits were men of great 
learning and science; but their system was to keep 
the people in ignorance; agreeably to this principle 
they gave their scholars only the rind and kept to 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 68 1 

themselves the pulp of literature. With this view 
they traveled from town to town as missionaries and 
went from house to house, examining all books, which 
the proprietor was compelled * * to produce. The 
books seized were all confiscated and burnt, so that 
a Bohemian and a rare book are synonymous terms. 
They thus endeavored to extinguish the ancient liter- 
ature of the country, labored to persuade the students 
that before the introduction of their order into Bohe- 
mia, nothing but ignorance prevailed, and carefully 
concealed the learned labors, and even the names of 
our ancestors. Such was their despotism, that the 
collections and writings of the patriotic Balbinus, on 
the literature of the ancient Bohemians, could not be 
published until after the extinction of their order. In 
a word from this period the history of Bohemia ceases, 
and the history of every nation in Bohemia begins." 
From that date Bohemia slept the sleep of political 
death for two hundred years. But notwithstanding 
the extinction of the nationality the proud title of king 
of Bohemia long constituted the highest portion of 
the emperor's inheritance. The policy of Austria even 
as developed in 1630, was directed to the extinction 
of the Slav nationalities and speech and the founda- 
tion of a German empire. But Austria never was 
and never could become, either ethnically or geograph- 
ically, the true center of Germany. Technically the 
German empire and the Austrian empire continued 
conterminous until Sadowa demonstrated the hollow- 
ness of Austria's claim to be considered a German 
power. The Austrian sovereign has ever been solicit- 
ous to retain the title of king of Bohemia, and thus 
perpetually to remind Bohemians not only of ancient 
glories but of the revival of similar glory in time to 



6S 2 HIS TOR Y OF B OH EM I A 

come. Some kind of a Bohemian kingdom continued 
to exist because it could not and it cannot be obliter- 
ated. The attempt to Germanize the Bohemians has 
been a crucial failure. Even the struggling peasants, 
who gradually emerged into a people after the mas- 
sacres of 1621-1630, and from 1630 to- 1648 the terrible 
vicissitudes of constant war, exhibited again the same 
national persistence as before. Their enforced isola- 
tion from education limited them of necessity to their 
own speech. It grew with the growth of numbers and 
they had and could have no other. It became a 
thousand fold more prized by them than ever before. 
It was the speech of their oppressions, their martyr- 
doms, their self-sacrifice. All the heroism and devo- 
tion of their nation were preserved and embodied in 
their language. It had gone down with them to death, 
had consoled them in their wretchedness, had com- 
muned with their ancestors, renewed the memories of 
national rights never surrendered, and recalled the 
sunny days of their scholars and heroes. The stupid- 
ity of its assailants preserved its vitality; and it has 
survived to become again the national emblem, the 
living expression of the national soul that no extrem- 
ity of persecution could deprive them of. 

But while civil and religious freedom died in east- 
ern Europe, or struggled painfully for existence, in 
the west during the same period it acquired superb 
strength and pre-eminence. 

The afflictions of Bohemia were loudly heralded 
wherever the throng of exiles could announce them. 
The extreme poverty of multitudes who had been pos- 
sessed of competence, if not affluence, of itself an- 
nounced the greed of their oppressors. The enormous 
wealth of adventurers rewarded out of confiscated es- 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 683 

tates told the tale of wholesale robbery. The debates 
in the English parliament resounded with indignation 
at the oppressions of the suffering brethren in Bohemia. 
The S3mjpathy openly exhibited by the English 
court for the system of oppression practiced in Bo- 
hemia, and the direct imitation of its methods and 
arguments in opposition to the English commons 
warned the English nation of the fate before them. 
As Waldstein represented one side and its system, 
when able to exhibit itself fully, of the thirty years 
war, Oliver Cromwell represented the other side. The 
condition of Bohemia since 1630 embodies what Wald- 
stein fought for; the condition of England indicates 
what Cromwell fought for. The methods of Waldstein 
may be compared with those employed by Cromwell 
that the contrast may be noted. The self-denying 
ordinance of the English parliament and the ferocious 
licentiousness of Waldstein's plunderers indicate the 
principle underlying the procedure in each case. The 
direct results demonstrate the original purpose on 
both sides. English history of this period must be 
read in the lurid light of Bohemia. During this most 
memorable epoch the foundations of American liberty 
were laid. Those foundations were constructed of 
materials hewn out of the ruins of Bohemian, English, 
Holland, and German liberties then overthrown. 
Those materials transported to the new land are to 
this hour the strong basis of American freedom. Bo- 
hemia contributed more than her share. Shall Bohe- 
mia alone be forgotten? Had Cromwell not prevailed 
no more of the English than of the Bohemian con- 
stitution could be pointed to as the source of Ameri- 
can public right. The "Rights" sanctioned under 
William HI. are embodied in the constitutional law 



684 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of every state of the Union. It was Cromwell that 
preserved the one, as it was Waldstein that annihi- 
lated the other. The persecutors of Bohemia are to 
this hour as desperately despotic as ever; but they 
profess gratitude that the cause for which Bohemia 
fought has conferred on mankind the light, learning, 
science, free speech, free thought, and orderly free- 
dom of the nineteenth century. Must the one nation 
that sacrificed her whole fortune and her life and her 
sacred honor in this great cause have no monument to 
her memory? 

Let it be remembered that the destruction of Bohe- 
mia preceded by a few years that actual civil war in 
England against Charles I. The methods, maxims, 
and jurisprudence introduced into Bohemia in order 
to efface her from the earth as a nation were familiarly 
known all through Europe. Those methods and that 
jurisprudence were sanctioned by the highest civil and 
ecclesiastical authority. They were adopted by bish- 
op, cardinal, and pope, even to the uttermost en- 
forcement in details. They were published as of divine 
sanction and proclaimed as inherently holy. Did those 
methods and that jurisprudence suddenly lose their di- 
vine character and sanction when employed against 
the same persons who originated and introduced them? 
Were they sacred in one case, and unholy in the 
other? Cromwell and William enforced against the 
allies of the persecutors of Bohemia the identical weap- 
ons they had forged. The so-called penal laws so 
furiously assailed in Ireland were and are only the 
same laws, in a much milder form, enforced in Bohe- 
mia as of divine authority. Bohemia could not utter 
a word in the utter prostration of her woe. Ireland 
has not been entirely silent. In Bohemia to-day the 



THIRTY YEARS WAR CONTINUED 685 

expression of her slavery is still largely suppressed, 
because her oppressors shrink in fear from a full 
exposure of her wrongs to the indignation of the 
world. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO I782. 

Public events in Europe during the period since 
1648 justify and require a brief statement of the for- 
tunes of Bohemia since the political burial of the 
country in 1648. The name Bohemia had become little 
more than a "geographical expression." The land was 
indeed frequently trodden and desecrated by the feet 
of mercenary hosts, or slaves impressed to soldier ser- 
vice; but these marshaled marauders, or alien com- 
batants trod only upon a grave. In the contests rep- 
resented by them no question of the life, the liberty, 
or the constitution of Bohemia was involved. Armies 
encamped and mutilated each other around Prague 
and elsewhere in the region represented by the name 
of Bohemia; but these violences arose in no degree 
from any consideration for Bohemia itself. They 
concerned France, or Prussia, or Austria. Nay more; 
— in some very memorable instances these contests 
were intended to tear the dead body of Bohemia limb 
from limb; the victor seizing that portion of the car- 
cass that suited him. Dead Bohemia was resurrected 
in order to be dismembered; although the process 
v/as represented only as an exhumation. The clothing, 
ornaments, and muniments of title, supposed to have 
been interred forever with the body, were dug up and 
exposed to the light, in order that the body snatchers 
might justify their appropriation of trunk or limbs. 

686 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 687 

Worse still; — the possession of a section of the corpse 
became the foundation for claims to dominions that 
the dead had once possessed. Some apparent regard 
for the former conditions was exhibited for appear- 
ance sake, and to confer some semblance of property 
right. But it was only a carnival of plunderers who 
masqueraded in the garments torn from the grave of 
the deceased. 

The complicated territorial arrangements necessary 
to complete the peace of Westphalia consumed three 
years. The kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, now 
denominated hereditary states, and treated as chas- 
tised rebels, obtained no courtesy but that of the lash. 
Protestant Germany secured large liberties and in 
fact lost but little if anything of its original claims. 
Protestant Bohemia and protestant Hungary being 
only protestant and not German were consigned sul- 
lenly to their death. After the final settlement Fer- 
dinand HI. repaired to Prague whither the new body 
of electors, Mayence, Treves, Palatinate, Saxony, 
Brandenburg, and Bavaria represented by the widow 
of the late duke, hastened to meet him. The name 
of king of Bohemia was here mentioned again in or- 
der that young Ferdinand might assume it. The 
prince was also elected king of the Romans and suc- 
cessor in the empire. But during the following year 
the smallpox conferred these dignities on his younger 
brother Leopold. Three hundred thousand gulden 
were distributed among the burghers of Prague in rec- 
ognition of their resistance to Koenigsmark. A portion 
of Bohemia, not, however, occupied by Bohemians, 
had already sold itself and now received its money. 
The empress Eleonora was crowned at Prague the 
following year; and an assembly nominally of the es- 



HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tates conferred the regal dignity on Leopold with all 
the customary formalities. Although an oath of hom- 
age was exacted on one side, yet not one word of con- 
firmation or acknowledgment of national privileges was 
uttered on the other. This election and those that 
followed proved that only a form, without life or sub- 
stance became the basis of Austrian claims to the 
kingdom of Bohemia. The soul, the purpose, the 
assent of the nation has never accompanied that form ; 
and not one Austrian sovereign since Ferdinand II. 
has been king of Bohemia. 

Contemporary with these political formalities were 
the changes in the educational status of the country, 
through the transfer of the university to the control of 
the Jesuits. January 26th, 1650, an ordinance appeared 
requiring every professor before entering on the duties 
of his ofifice either in the Carolinum or the Jesuit col- 
lege, to make solemn oath that the Virgin Mary had 
been conceived immaculate. This peculiar phrase- 
ology was directed against every form of protestant be- 
lief. Every year must the same oath be renewed. 
The regulation continued in force until 1782. Pub- 
lic opinion at that period rendered the imposition of 
such an oath in a university extremely dangerous. As 
usual the reform came from without. In 1653 the two 
institutions were blended under the common title of 
the "Carolo-Ferdinandine University." The archbishop 
of Prague became ex-officio chancellor. Every year a 
new rector must be elected under the title of Rector 
Magnificus. The emperor alone could confirm the 
professors. The professors of Arts and Law received 
a salary from the university. Lectures on medicine 
and jurisprudence were delivered in the Carolinum ; 
philosophy and theology in the Clementine, and con 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 689 

ducted solely by the Jesuits. The deep ignorance in- 
to which the country sank for two centuries and the 
total absence of all literary eminence, or even effort, 
demonstrated the deliberate mockery, the false pre- 
tenses of these so-called university arrangements. 
They were a mere subterfuge to destroy the intelli- 
gence of Bohemia. 

From this period the annals recount only mere com- 
monplaces for several years. While the old life was 
extinct in Bohemia, in Hungary it still possessed 
large vitality. War with the Turks and the French 
rapidly exhausted the population. Of the regiments 
marched against the common foe scarcely a rem- 
nant ever returned. After a four years' struggle a 
peace for twenty years was concluded; and then came 
Ferdinand's long coveted opportunity. The practice 
in Hungary of revolting assaults on individuals and 
churches stimulated resistance. Under Ragotsky a 
fierce insurrection arose in defense of the last national 
and religious rights of the Lutherans in Hungary. 
Deprived now of allies through the subversion of the 
Bohemian states, and confronted w^ith the entire force 
of the empire and its allies from Lombardy to the 
Netherlands the Hungarians felt the bitterness of their 
defection from the common cause, in their hostility to 
Bohemia on many occasions. Until 1673 this contest 
covered Hungary with ruin, annihilated her best and 
bravest people, crushed the most energetic and useful 
mind of the country, and drove her most excellent 
elements either into exile or the grave. Ferdinand at 
one swoop seized 250 Lutheran pastors, drove them 
in chains over the border, and sold them at fifty crowns 
each to the galleys of Naples. Here the gallant ad- 
miral De Ruyter interposed; rescued the prisoners, 



690 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

took them on board his fleet, and transported them in 
honor to Holland. Not of men only but of treasure 
was Bohemia drained. The contingent of troops was 
fixed at 3,916 men a year; and the contribution in 
money at 2,300,000 gulden. Other supplies in large 
amounts drained the life blood of the country. In 
this year, i6g6, another body of exiles fled from the 
kingdom, their pretended conversion being discovered. 
The long dominance of the Turks in Hungary is due 
quite as much to the ferocity of papal emissaries who 
destroyed its best defenders as to any superior ability 
of the Turks themselves. 

During the year 1699, Peter the Great of Russia vis- 
ited Prague with a retinue of one hundred and fifty 
persons. The nobles who entertained him found to 
their surprise that Peter could comprehend their Sla- 
vonian speech. His presence at once ennobled their 
own; and this interview gave the first impetus to the 
revival of Bohemian. It was no longer a peasant 
language. Already the German had made inroads on 
it even in the rural districts. From that moment that 
inroad was checked, then resisted, and finally sup- 
pressed. Only in the presence of Austrian officers in 
Prague does any Bohemian ever descend to the use of 
any language but his own. 

Joseph I. succeeded his father Leopold in 1703. 
He had seen much active service in the camp before 
Landau, and exhibited brilliant qualities and a manly 
generous disposition. His education had not been 
entrusted to the Jesuits. His governor, the prince of 
Salm, had observed that this society sacrificed every 
consideration for their order, and that to them were 
due the persecutions, disgraces and disturbances that 
had afflicted the empire since Maximilian II. Fie died 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 691 

in 171 1 without having formally assumed the crown 
of Bohemia. During his reign the efforts of the 
Hungarians under Ragotsky threatened the peace of 
Bohemia. Agents had secretly induced many persons 
in Moravia and Silesia to promise support. The total 
defeat of Ragotsky at Trentschen, August 17th, 1708, 
reduced the country to submission. Taught by 1648, 
however, the emperor arranged a convention at Zatmar 
in January, 1711. General amnest)' was conferred; 
confiscated property restored; prisoners were liber- 
ated; the exercise of the protestant religion as stipu- 
lated in the constitution of the kingdom secured; with 
the confirmation of all rights and immunities approved 
by Joseph at his coronation, and liberty to exhibit 
other grievances for redress at the next diet. Ra- 
gotsky retired to France, then to Spain, and finally to 
Constantinople, and died at the castle of Rodosto on 
the sea of Marmora. He wrote several religious 
works. With his sons, Francis and George, the fam- 
ily became extinct. 

Shortly after the accession of Charles VI. the vio- 
lation of the peace of Carlovitz by the Turks renewed 
formidable hostilities in Hungary. 

At Peterwaradin, August 5th, 1716, the Bohemian 
contingent greatly distinguished itself; and in fact 
the supply of men and munitions for these wars seemed 
then to be the only object of Bohemian existence in 
any form. In the following year before Belgrade 
again Bohemia vindicated its just claim to recogni- 
tion under the eye of Prince Eugene. By this victory 
Temeswar, the western part of Wallachia and Servia, 
the territory and city of Belgrade and part of Bosnia 
were secured to the dominions of Austria. At this 
date Charles VI. attained the summit of his power. 



692 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

He was elected emperor of Germany, and sovereign 
actually of Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Austria, 
Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Tyrol, Silesia, Na- 
ples, Sicily, the Milanese and the Netherlands, This 
splendid empire contained a population estimated at 
24,000,000, composed, however, of different and in 
some cases of irreconcilable nationalities. During 
this year, 1718, August 2nd, Charles promulgated his 
celebrated Pragmatic Sanction,* regulating the suc- 
cession among his family and its branches. 

Leopold had already formed a family compact that 
was confirmed by Joseph and Charles himself. By that 
compact the succession was entailed on the daughters of 
Joseph in preference to the daughters of Charles should 
both die without male descendants. Charles now re- 
versed this arrangement, and fixed the succession first 
in his own daughters, of whom the eldest was Maria 
Theresa. Knowing however, that the strongest paper 
obligations of one Austrian ruler had always been re- 
pudiated by the next, if such a course pleased him, 
Charles now obtained from the estates of his domin- 
ions an acknowledgment of the Pragmatic Sanction. 
He also made the guarantee of this compact by Eu- 
ropean nations the great object of his reign. To this 
dynastic manoeuvre Bohemia owed its subjection to 
the rule of Maria Theresa. Spain gave its adhesion 
in 1725, England in 1731, Holland in 1731, the Ger- 
man states in 1732, and France in 1735 ^^^ 1738. 

In 1723 came Charles and the empress, and their 

daughters to Prague to assume the crown of Bohemia. 

As a similar scene had not been presented for sixty-sev- 

* The word Pragma in Greek came to signify the deliberate act of 
the imperial house: a solemn and dynastic proceeding. Hence 
Pragmatic Sanction signified the concurrence of the imperial family 
in a procedure affecting themselves. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 693 

en years, great was the rejoicing. Five hundred no- 
bles and knights and a multitude of citizens met the 
cortege. The estates assembled, took the oath of al- 
legiance and went through the ceremony of election, 
which alone conferred the dignity of the electorate 
on the Austrian house. The coronation oath, however, 
was totally omitted on this occasion; and the nation 
was reminded that it had now a master bound to it 
by no obligation to respect any of its rights, and in 
fact that it had no rights that any king need notice. 
Three days afterward the empress' coronation was per- 
formed with equal absence of all recognition of Bo- 
hemia except the form. By these proceedings all the 
law of election and inheritance in Bohemia was wil- 
fully violated and spurned. As in many oriental coun- 
tries, the heir of the king of Bohemia must be his heir 
born after the royalty of the king and not before. 
Hence by the law Charles' children were excluded. 
Charles omitted the oath and did not commit perjury. 
The essence of the coronation, on which its entire 
validity depended, having been left out the form con- 
ferred nothing. 

During this period of internal quietness the natural 
fertility and mineral resources of Bohemia restored 
prosperity. Trade flourished chiefly in Saxon ships. 
Corn, fruit, wine, horses, linen, and other agricultural 
products were exported with much profit. All classes 
shared the benefits. 

Maria Theresa had not completed her twenty-fourth 
year, when by force of the. Pragmatic Sanction she 
succeeded to the throne of the empire. 

All classes felt grave apprehensions for the mainte- 
nance of domestic peace. Hungary was feared; the 
elector of Bavaria aspired to the crown by virtue of 



694 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

the will of Ferdinand I. and much local excitement 
existed among the population. The empire was feeble 
and in poverty; and the ministers felt oppressed by 
the public perils in the presence of a young and in- 
experienced sovereign. The French court vacillated 
about acknowledging the queen of Bohemia's title; 
but other powers professed friendship. The Austrian 
monarchy had sown the wind in its dealings with 
the Bohemian kingdom, and was now about to reap 
the whirlwind. Frederic II. the new king of Prussia 
was a man of iron hardened into an extreme tenacity 
of temper by the blows of his father. He put for- 
ward claims to Silesia quite as tenable as those as- 
serted b}' Austria- to portions of its dominions. He 
was encouraged by his power, and the weakness of his 
dominant neighbor. The occasion was favorable. 
Silesia was held b}' Austria solely on the ground that 
it had been united with Bohemia. The province never 
formed part of the Bohemian dominions in the same 
sense as Moravia did. Silesia was associated indeed 
as part of the dominions actually ruled by the king of 
Bohemia but was not dynastically part of them. The 
election by the estates was always necessary; it was 
held as much of Poland and Hungary was long held. 
In no sense had the head of the Austrian house inher- 
ited any territory in Silesia. Frederic claimed that 
he did inherit ; and now claimed the whole as partly 
his own and partly necessary to his security according 
to the strict law then prevailing. Accordingly, having 
secretly prepared, the king entered Silesia December 
23rd, 1740, at the head of a strong force; and before 
the end of January, 1741, had made himself master 
of the entire province except Glogan, Brieg and Neiss. 
The Austrian force assembled in Moravia, and marched 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 695 

against Frederic, April loth, the armies met at Mol- 
vitz; and as the Austrians broke the right wing of 
the Prussians, Frederic hastily quitted the field leav- 
ing the fight to his generals. The main army of the 
Austrians failed to shake the steady Prussian line, 
and after three assaults was driven back in confusion. 
At this point marshal Schweren having rallied his 
right wing advanced against the broken enemy; and 
a total rout of the Austrians resulted. Frederic had 
retired to appear six German miles from the field, and 
nearly became prisoner to some hussars who occupied 
the place. A few shots forced the king back toward 
Neiss where he heard of his victory. Frederic's alli- 
ance was at once courted by Europe ; and he was re- 
garded as the champion of the oppressed in Europe. 
After fruitless negotiations wherein both parlies were 
rather irritated than pacified by the interference of 
England, the war was renewed in 1714 with France 
and Bavaria operating in favor ol Prussia. The forces 
of these powers united marched to invest Prague that 
contained large , magazines and a feeble garrison. 
While Marshal Belleisle thus occupied Bohemia an- 
other French force operated against Hanover to check 
the English. The allies being thus triumphant the 
affairs of the empire seemed desperate. But the 
strength of Austria consists in the mutual hatreds of 
its component parts. Any two or three will always 
combine against any of the others. Under any ex- 
ternal contingency the antipathies of some against 
any outside power will persuade them to aid the 
common oppressor. Aided by subsidies from England 
Maria Theresa resolved to appeal to the magnanimity 
of nations to whom she could not utter a S3dlable on 
the ground of justice. Assembling the Hungarian 



696 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

diet the queen appeared dramatically bearing the crown 
and scimitar of St. Stephen. Addressing the assem- 
bly, and holding up her infant, Joseph, in her arms 
the personal appeal, and the political distress of the 
queen extinguished from the minds of the fiery Mag- 
yars all sentiment of hostility, and waving their 
swords they shouted in Latin, then and still very com- 
monly spoken, "Let us die for our king, Maria The- 
resa."* A motley host was at once assembled from 
the Save, the Teiss, the Drave, and the Danube; and 
these wild and barbarous bands were viewed with as- 
tonishment by the uniformed regiments of Europe. 
They were the same that had plundered and massacred 
in Bohemia many times. But divisions and jealousies 
among the allies induced Frederic to listen to an ac- 
commodation. A convention was drawn up ceding 
to him Lower Silesia with the towns of Breslau and 
Neiss. Although this pretended arrangement only 
amused Austria without binding the king, as it never 
was signed, it enabled Maria -Theresa to combine her 
strength against France, Saxony and Bavaria. Fred- 
eric's chief anxiety arose from the expectation that 
if he obtained success the elector of Bavaria would 
be induced to claim the crown of Bohemia to 
which he openly aspired. Thus the body was exhumed 
in order that its possessor might lay claim to some 
of the goods formerly owned by the deceased. Fred- 
eric's apprehensions were quickened by the fact that 
the elector of Bavaria had turned aside from Vienna, 
and hastened to the attack of Prague. At that moment 
all Silesia was in the hands of the king of Prussia; 

* The use of the phrase " Moriamur pro rege nostro" is too well 
aufif^nticated for dispute. The Magyars by use of the word King 
£,a'-«ii their oath as well as their law. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1684 TO 1782 697 

Upper Austria and the greater part of Bohemia occu- 
pied by the French, Bavarians and Saxons. October, 
1741. Under the armistice with Prussia, Maria The- 
resa assembled her forces at Znaim, and with 60,000 
men the duke of Lpraine marched to release Prague. 
Arrived within three leagues of the city the duke 
heard that the citadel had surrendered under General 
Ogilvy. The same day the elector of Bavaria entered; 
was crowned king of Bohemia, December 19th, and 
at once departed for Frankfort to meet the diet of the 
empire. Under the influence of France the elector of 
Bavaria was raised to the empire, February 12th, 1742, 
and took the title of Charles VII. Maria Theresa had 
conferred on her husband the title of co-regent in order 
to obtain for him the vote of Bohemia. But this 
transfer could not be accepted by the electors. The 
elector obtained only an empty title. Austria directed 
ail energies against Bavaria; and this advance 
alarmed the king of Prussia who had purchased Glatz 
from the elector as king of Bohemia. Apprehensive 
that Maria Theresa would next attack Silesia, Frederic 
passed through Prague, and reformed his army near 
Glatz. Marching by Iglau, Znaim and Goedingen his 
hussars spread terror to the gates of Vienna. At the 
same time the French seized Egra and advanced to 
Piseck. At this juncture Frederic's proposals were 
finally rejected as the Saxons and French deserted 
him, and he was compelled to retire to Chrudim in Bo- 
hemia. Charles of Loraine advanced through Mora- 
via, and confronted the Prussians near Chotusitz, May 
17th, 1742. Here the king gained an indecisive vic- 
tory. At the same moment a force of 10,000 men was 
advancing to reinforce the French in Bohemia. By 
a definite treaty all Upper and Lower Silesia were 



698 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ceded to Prussia in full sovereignty with the county 
of Glatz except Troppau and Jagerndorf and the 
mountains beyond the Oppau. Thus the dead body 
of the deceased was dismembered forever. July 28th, 
1742. Relieved on this side the Austrians concen- 
trated 70,000 men against Belleisle and Broglio at 
Prague. Belleisle offered to surrender on condition 
of retaining his arms, artillery and baggage. Maria 
Theresa imperiously rejected these conditions; and 
was supported by England and the Netherlands. The 
siege of Prague was pushed, and the garrison reduced 
to extremities. The approach of reinforcements under 
Maillebois to relieve the French compelled Prince 
Charles to weaken his army of investment; and Brog- 
lio was enabled to escape and join the other French 
army on the Iser leaving Belleisle still closely block- 
aded. The winter proved to be extremely severe; and 
the country for several leagues around Prague was en- 
tirely stripped of supplies of all kinds. A small de- 
tachment only could be left to observe the French; 
and on the night of December i6th, Belleisle forming 
11,000 foot, 3,000 horse, and 30 pieces of artillery into 
a single column, and having provided supplies for 12 
days swiftly marched out leaving the sick and wound- 
ed with a guard in the citadel. Up to that date no 
European army experienced such dreadful sufferings 
as the retiring French during this march. With only 
frozen bread for subsistence, compelled to sleep on 
ice and snow and without covering, harrassed by at- 
tacks, the soldiers perished in great numbers. "The 
roads were overspread with corpses, heaps of one and 
two hundred men each wi.th their officers were found 
stiffened with frost, or dead with fatigue." Fever 
and amputation subsequently destroyed hundreds 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 699 

more. But not a cannon or other trophy was lost. 
The garrison of 6,000 under Chevert being called on 
for unconditional surrender threatened to fire the city. 
To save the capital they were allowed the honors of 
war, and joined the other army at Egra. Thus all Bo- 
hemia except Egra was regained. Maria Theresa was 
crowned at Prague May 12, 1743. January 2nd, Mar- 
shal Belleisle quitted Egra; and returned to France 
with 8,000 men out of 40,000, humiliated and a fugi- 
tive. 

The designs of Austria now extended to the dismem- 
berment of France, the appropriation of Bavaria, and 
the recovery of Silesia. Hence Frederic of Prussia again 
intervened. Accordingly he signed a convention May 
13th, 1744, with the emperor, France, elector Palatine, 
Sweden and Hesse. August loth, he marched into Bo- 
hemia; and September i6th, seized Prague, and forced 
the garrison of 1,000 men to surrender. Next seizing 
Tabor. Budweis, Frankenberg he occupied all Bohe- 
mia east of the Moldau. Again the Hungarians rushed 
to the aid of Maria Theresa, and hastened to defend 
Bohemia. Want of provisions forced Frederic to re- 
tire with loss. At Strigau in Silesia, June 2nd, 1745, 
the Austrians were defeated and driven back into Bo- 
hemia. Maria Theresa supported by English subsidies 
still held out. England attempted to mediate; and 
her proposals being rejected George H. by a conven- 
tion guaranteed Silesia to Frederic. Again at Stau- 
dentz the Austrians suffered a severe defeat; but the 
exhaustion of the country compelled the king to retire 
from the frontiers of Bohemia. By a form of election 
at Frankfort, September 13th, Francis became em- 
peror, the vote of Bohemia being supposed to be 
vested in Maria Theresa. But Frederic was not idle. 



7 oo HIS TOR Y OF B ONE MIA 

A division of Saxons was defeated at Hennendorf and 
Prince Charles expelled from Silesia with a loss of 
5,000 men. Another corps of Saxons being totally 
routed at Kesselsdorf by the prince of Anhalt, Decem- 
ber 15th, the king entered Dresden in triumph, and 
overran the whole electorate. Maria Theresa at once 
accepted the mediation of Great Britain, and on the 
5th of December, 1746, by the peace of Dresden, Prus- 
sia became confirmed in the possession of Silesia and 
Glatz. In return Frederic evacuated Saxon}', acknowl- 
edged the suffrage of Bohemia, and the validity of 
the late election. 

By the year 1756, the condition of Europe had so 
completely changed that Maria Theresa felt compelled 
to conciliate and seek the aid of France. She saw 
Frederic able to penetrate Bohemia with 100,000 men; 
the German states principally governed by the protest- 
ants supported by the court of Berlin; the protestant 
states powerfully armed and the Catholics possessing 
neither troops nor money. The occasion seemed fa- 
vorable to devote serious attention to the recovery of 
Silesia; and secret preparations for that purpose had 
been made. Frederic clearly saw these proceedings, 
and demanded of the empress-queen an explicit decla- 
ration of her position. The answer was evasive. The 
armaments in Bohemia were not explained. Her reply 
had scarcely been delivered when announcement was 
made that Frederic had seized Dresden and blockaded 
the Saxons in Pirna. Marshal Brown advanced from 
Prague to Saxony. He was defeated at Lovositz. The 
Saxons capitulated and the elector was compelled to 
flee to Warsaw. Marshal Schverin on the side of 
Silesia, destroyed all the subsistence under the very 
cannon of the Austrian camp; and Frederic took win- 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 701 

ter quarters in Bohemia. At the opening of 1756 a 
grand confederacy against the king of Prussia was 
consolidated. In reply the king burst into Bohemia 
with three strong columns. The Austrians were driven 
under the walls of Prague. Prince Charles took a 
position with Ziskaberg on his left. His army of 
70,000 men was defended by ravines and dykes. At 
first repulsed the Prussian columns furiously assailed 
the Austrian left and centre. Marshal Brown fell, and 
his absence created confusion. Fighting their way 
over every obstacle the Prussian advance broke the Aus- 
trian line, and Prince Charles took refuge in Prague. 
A rise in the Moldau saved his army from annihila- 
tion. At that moment 100,000 were shut up inside the 
capital without subsistence beyond the present mo- 
ment. Frederic suffered a total defeat at Kolin, June 
14th, 1757, and again Maria Theresa was saved. Again 
also the demands of Austria included the dismember- 
ment of the territories of Prussia. Berlin itself was 
laid under contribution by General Haddick; and the 
king had no sooner driven him out than he returned 
into Saxony and took post at Rosbach. Here the allies 
suffered a total defeat with the loss of 63 cannon, 
eleven generals, and a large number of prisoners. But 
the Austrians recovered the greater part of Silesia, 
with very heav}' loss to the Prussians. The king 
hastened through Lusatia, and met the enemy at 
Lissa. Here the Austrians suffered a dreadful over- 
throw with the loss of 134 cannon, while 18,000 sol- 
deirs and 13 generals surrendered. Maria Thersa lost 
50,000 men, the whole of Silesia except Schveidnitz 
and all the advantages of the campaign. 

Year after year this wasteful war continued. 

At the close of 1761 the affairs of Austria seemed 



702 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

triumphant, those of Prussia desperate. Even Fred- 
eric was despondent. Before him lay the Austrians ; 
behind him were arrayed the Russians. January 5th, 
1762, Elizabeth died; and Peter III. succeeded. In- 
stantly the face of affairs changed. Deserted by Rus- 
sia and Sweden Austria lost Silesia irrecoverably. Bo- 
hemia was harrassed continually; Egra reduced to 
ashes; and Prince Henry advanced to Prague. By the 
final treaty of Hubertsburg Maria Theresa renounced 
Silesia and Glatz, and Bohemia once more had peace. 
February 5th, 1763. 

During the period of twenty years immediately suc- 
ceeding the close of the seven years war, public opin- 
ion in Europe had undergone not only a modification 
but a revolution respecting religious toleration. Dis- 
asters and misery so shocking to all human feeling 
had resulted from such cruelties as had culminated m 
Bohemia that universal horror of such excesses seized 
the public mind. Maria Theresa could introduce no 
radical change into her administration ; but her suc- 
cessor, Joseph II., partook largely of the spirit of his 
time. The spirit of 1782 would not endure a repeti- 
tion of Magdeburg or of the men who would be guilty 
of a similar atrocity. November 29, 1780, Joseph suc- 
ceeded; and at once entered on a series of reforms 
most politic and in many respects wise and beneficent. 
Great reductions were made in the power and estab- 
lishments of the Catholic church; and an attempt to 
restore simplicity in religious observances inaugurated 
in all outward ceremonies. Above all other innova- 
tions must be reckoned the Edict of Toleration issued 
October 13th, 1781, and enlarged at intervals afterward. 
By this edict the free exercise of religion was secured 
to all members of protestant or non-catholic churches. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1648 TO 1782 703 

All christians were declared equal as citizens; and 
capable of holding all offices in the state; every com- 
munity of 3,000 souls, resident in any town or district 
was permitted to build a church provided they could 
establish a permanent fund for the support of a pas- 
tor, and relief of the poor; and a new translation of 
the Bible into the German tongue was ordered. The 
Jews also acquired the legal right to practice all arts 
and trades, and to attend all schools and universities, 
From that year, 1782, pastors were found in Prague 
as if by magic. In 1789, three hundred and ten prot- 
estant families openly professed in that city. In the 
following year the number of reformed who could take 
advantage of the edict amounted to about 44,000. 
Many districts could not present the number of resi- 
dents necessary to build a church and endow it; but 
in 60 years the number of protestants openly organ- 
ized into congregations amounted to nearly 100,000. 
In political status the country continued dead. The 
old life nowhere appeared ; and yet it was but covered 
by a crust. 

During this period, and up to 1848 although the 
name of the estates had been permitted to exist, yet 
they were limited in function to the mere registration 
of the imperial acts. They might impose, levy, assess 
the direct taxes, and thus became the machinery where- 
by the most arbitrary decrees were put in execution. 
They were in no practical sense representatives of the 
people; but rather privileged corporations whose per- 
sonal advantage was opposed to the people at large. 
If their own interests coincided with those of the pub- 
lic, so far they represented other interests than their 
own. This position was, of evil design, thrust upon 
the Bohemian estates, to make them hostile to the 
nation. Hence they possessed no influence. 



764 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

The emperor, Joseph II. considered the estates as 
an impediment to his autocratic reform plans; and he 
discontinued their sittings. Taken in conjunction with 
his suppressive proceedings toward the church, his 
policy received the cordial support of the philosoph- 
ical politicians of the day. These persons controlled 
the sentiments of the higher and middle classes. The 
emperor Leopold, II. re-established the estates in 
form. Emperor Francis restricted their influence to 
the smallest possible degree in administration; and 
in legislation denied it to them wholly. 

The chief maxim of the Austrian government con- 
sisted in the unabated maintenance of the sovereign's 
authority, and a denial of all claim on the part of the 
people to any participation in that authority. Until 
March, 1848, no ministry existed in the Austrian em- 
pire; only court functionaries. The several depart- 
ments were mere branches of the great aulic adminis- 
tration, subdivided into court offices, mere secretary- 
ships of the monarch, which acted in his name and 
were addressed as "Your Majesty." Under the em- 
peror Francis oral communications between the em- 
peror and the heads of departments became more and 
more rare; and as public business increased it was 
split up among a vast number of functionaries. 

The centralizing maxim that produced this daily 
augmenting evil was accompanied by two others, in- 
tended to support it. One was the paternal character 
of the government; the other the defense and pro- 
motion of the Catholic church. Under the former of 
these two very great laxity in practice grew up beside 
the most arbitrary principles. Laws the most severe 
were not enforced; but they were not repealed; and 
officials could and did take advantage of them to com- 



BOHEMIA PROM 1648 TO 1782 705 

mit infinite acts of oppression. Suddenly a draconian 
sentence startled the public and men felt desperately 
distrustful of an authority that held the lash over them 
at all times, and not seldom encouraged law breaking 
by its seeming paternal feelings, and then on a sud- 
den swooped down on the incautious victims of its lax- 
ity. Bohemians felt they could not even breathe free- 
ly. The maxim of supporting the Catholic church was 
ostentatiously accompanied by an avowed favor to Jes- 
uits and Liguorians. These societies possessed the 
right to call in the police power to enforce obedience 
to ecclesiastical regulations, such as the infliction of 
punishment for joining in music and dancing, even 
in non-catholic houses on Fridays and Saturdays ; the 
orders issued to tavern-keepers to separate on fast 
days those who ate meat from those who did not. 
These regulations provoked infinite ribaldry, and re- 
sentment. Most injurious of all to non-catholics was 
the established custom of requiring the consent of the 
Catholic bishop to the establishment of non-catholic 
alms-houses and schools allowed under the law of tol- 
eration. Endless postponements of the decision in 
such cases created not only constant complaints, but 
infinite dissension with the church. Bohemia is Cath- 
olic only from the lips outward. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

BOHEMIA FROM 1 782 TO 1 848. 

The imperial concessions of 1782 recognized a fer- 
ment of public opinion that had already made itself 
felt. The principles alluded to in those concessions, 
much more than those expressed, warmed up the feel- 
ings that on many occasions created alarm in Vienna. 
That city itself partook of the general restiveness. 
Scarcely had men's political e3'es become accustomed 
to the new light when the terrible flash of the double 
revolution in America and in France awed all behold- 
ers by its menacing brilliancy. In that terrible glare 
men saw much that had never before been so awfully 
revealed. The light though momentarily blinding 
spread a lasting illumination over the political heav- 
en. Electric enthusiasm shook the nations. Men 
perceived in what darkness they had been sunk, and 
with hands fevered by emotion they grasped the new 
treasures spread before them. The violent frenzy of 
France could not be felt in Austria, But some of the 
same spirit was diffused there, Into Bohemia the 
light penetrated through the partially closed windows 
of the Hall of the Estates. The march of armies over 
the surface of the country between 1792 and 1806 was 
merely the passage of strangers over a sepulchre. But 
the tread shook the nation. At Austerlitz, December 
and, 1805, fell Austria fatall}', and the German em- 
pire was no more. July 12th, 1806, arose the Confed- 

706 




Joseph Debrovsky. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 184S 707 

eration of the Rhine; August 6th, the emperor Fran- 
cis abdicated the imperial crown of Germany; and 
the inexplicable title of Austrian empire sounded in 
men's ears. Of all the claims to sovereignty put 
forth by the ruler of Austria that of king of Bohemia 
was the highest; and he did not possess that by right 
until legally crowned. May 21st and 22nd, i8og, on 
the Marchfield, the memorable scene of Otakar's de- 
feat and death, near Aspern and Esslingen, the polit- 
ical death of Austria was accomplished. Znaim saw 
the last struggle of this campaign; the Dalmatian 
provinces were ceded to France; and to complete the 
humiliation of Habsburg the very ramparts of Vienna 
were blown up. But Bonaparte disgraced his name 
forever by the military execution of the gallant Tyro- 
lean leader, Hofer. The following year Count Met- 
ternich, lately ambassador to France, became leader of 
the Austrian cabinet. During the brief interval that 
bound Austria with galling chains to her conqueror's 
chariot, the comatose body of Bohemia exhibited 
symptoms of vitality. In 1791, the diet held at Prague 
obtained the erection of a chair of instruction in the 
Bohemian language in the university. At the moment 
this creation seemed to be merely an educational meas- 
ure. Assuredly it was that, and much more. Do- 
brovsky resuscitated the history, the antiquities, the 
revered and sacred memories of Bohemia. In fact he 
made Bohemia known to Europe. At once the study 
of the Bohemian tongue became respectable, then 
fashionable, and at last by force of public opinion 
imperative socially. Puchmayer, Nejedly, Hnevkovs- 
ky, Klicpera, Celakovsky, Macha, Tyl, Presl, Sa- 
farik, Palacky and others, and especially Jungmann 
the lexicographer, touched the national mind in the 



7o8 HIS TOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

school that grew up from these beginnings. The 
Bohemian diet of 1811 exhibited much ebullition of 
national feeling; but the exhaustion of the kingdom, of 
men for the military contingent required by Bona 
parte, and of money in the utter bankruptcy of the 
empire, that by a sweeping decree of Count Wallis 
struck eighty per cent off the value of one thousand 
and sixty millions of bank paper, deprived Bohemia 
of all power to stir. Two further years of strife, — 
1813, 1814, found war surging angrilj- around the 
frontiers of Bohemia, and saw great armies enrolled 
within her borders. In the treaty of alliance of 1814, 
the European sovereigns combined against Napoleon 
and formally recognized "the strictest obedience to the 
maxims of popular right." Only the expectation of 
that recognition had kept their subjects obedient and 
in the field. The violence of Napoleon seemed to be 
the destruction of those rights. But after 1815 the 
great powers of the continent, by the Holy Alliance, 
again reverted to their former policy of inflexible ab- 
solutism. The incarnation of this principle ruled 
Austria in Prince Metternich. 

Although the Bohemian estates for one hundred 
years simply enjoyed the form of their ancient prerog- 
ative, yet that form had been retained more closely 
than elsewhere in the empire. The provincial offi- 
cers of the estates stood at the head of provincial ad- 
ministration. The appointees to any of these offices, 
if not members of the estates, were by an abuse of 
power invested with the incolate and required grade 
of nobility by the sovereign; but this tyrannical -da- 
vice kept alive the memory both of privilege and of 
function. The march of events was too strong for 
the allied sovereigns. By the treaty 01 1S15, Bohemia 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1848 709 

was violently introduced into the Germanic Confed- 
eration, although her relation to that empire had been 
purely international. Bohemia was a Slav and not a 
German country. That act of the emperor combined 
all minds in Bohemia against the arbitrary act. The 
soul of the nation was quickened. In 1818 was found- 
ed the Museum of Prague. The "'Prague Museum 
Review" soon followed. The glories of the national 
history were spread before all minds. Popular works 
and a national theatre farther expressed native thought. 
Jungmann, Kollar, Celakovsky and other learned 
writers in prose and poetry appealed to the national 
ear and heart. Prague became the center of Slav re- 
vival. The feelings and sentiments long dormant in 
the rural population now spread through all classes. 
At that juncture Greece, Belgium, Poland awoke also. 
Russia by assisting Greece strengthened the general 
cause that Greece represented. Even Spain showed 
strong signs of vitality. The Hungarian diet of 1825 
felt a thrill of reviving national life, and Bohemia 
yielded to a stronger hope. The year 1821 is memor- 
able as the birth year of Charles Havlicek the chief 
promoter of renewed nationalism openly advocated in 
Bohemia. Born in Bohemia but for a time tutor in 
the family of the Russian Prince Chevyref, Havlicek 
became a journalist in 1844, first on the staff of the 
"Bohemian Bee," and next the "Gazette of Prague." 
For years Havlicek wrought only by aid of devices 
and stratagems; as the life of a journalist was not 
then at all popular with Austrian censors. By a mis- 
taken analogy of political conditions Havlicek com- 
pared Bohemia to Ireland; and "Repeal," became his 
watchword. 

From 1826 to the revolution of 1830 in France was 



7 1 o HIS TOR Y OF B ONE MIA 

but a brief step. This incident passed with but little 
commotion, and Bohemia only "nursed her wrath to 
keep it warm." The country continued very tranquil 
but deep discontent swelled in every heart. The feel 
ing of her wrongs grew in intensity daily; and Bohe- 
mia had fixed with precision her present and her cov- 
eted relation to the empire. The insurrection in 
Poland in 1831, and the absorption of the little re- 
public of Cracow by Austria created uneasiness and 
sympathy; and demonstrated the forced but unnatural 
quiet of Europe. A new life arising out of the im- 
proved social and educational conditions had spread; 
but had not acquired strength to break through the 
military absolutist crust that compressed its danger- 
ous elasticity. Gallicia followed in 1846, and exhib- 
ited the same subdued disquiet. 

During this precise period the actual condition 
of Bohemia is well exhibited by the statements 
of a casual, and disinterested eye-witness; the 
only one who during more than half a century 
gave the world a glimpse of the real state of 
affairs. His statements are based on observation 
during a tour on foot through the country in 1837. 
Let it be remembered that only since 1782 was the 
exercise of any profession permitted to a non-cath- 
olic. The Bohemians were mere hewers of wood and 
drawers of water. During the tremendous struggle 
with Napoleon the energy and presence of mind of 
the country had not had time to recover conscious- 
ness. The resources of Bohemia were drained to the 
utmost to maintain that struggle; and the regiments 
that fought at Austerlitz and at Kulm, and every 
other sanguinary battle of that war, contained repre- 
sentatives of Bohemian manhood so long as a man re- 





Joseph Safarik. 



Joseph Jungmann. 





John Kollar. 



Francis L. Celakovsky. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1848 711 

mained. B}' the year 1837 a new generation had 
grown to manhood; and the mind of the nation looked 
sullenly at its past and its present. "Perhaps there 
is no city in the world," says our observer,* "which 
by the air which attaches to all its arrangements more 
completely separates you from the present and carries 
you back into the past than Prague. There is nothing 
in or around it, there is no separate building, nor 
street, nor square within its walls which is not more 
or less connected by the strong link of association 
with the mightiest and the most enduring struggle of 
principle in which the christian world was ever en- 
gaged. Go where you will your eye rests on some- 
thing which speaks to you of a time when Prague was 
indeed a capital. Here in the Alt Stadt stands — 
noble in its decay — the old palace of Konighof the fa- 
vorite residence of Charles IV. There is the Tyne or 
Thein church, within which Has, himself but the 
successor of Milicius and Stickna, and even Janovius 
the Parisian, denounced the corruptions of Rome; 
here the same townhall, where by the gallant burghers, 
the doctrines of the Reformation were first avowed, 
and within which after a long and desperate effort to 
maintain them, they were abjured, not I suspect for- 
ever. * * * At a period when every political means 
is employed to efface and subdue the national charac- 
ter, when every act of social life to be innocent must 
be Austrian, it is well that there is a power and a 
spirit in these unshaken walls, and perennial customs, 
which must needs keep the memory of their great or- 
igin and former energy fresh in the hearts of the Bo- 
hemian people." These reminiscences, our author 
might well have added, are forced upon the people. 
* The Rev. G. R. Gleig, Chaplain-General of the British army. 



7 1 2 HISTOR Y OF B O HEM I A 

Nothing else is left to them. They are compelled to 
live in and gloat over the memories of the past, for 
they are denied a present and a future. Our author 
adds : "Among the watchers over the temporal and 
spiritual prosperity of Bohemia, St. John of Nepomuc 
holds a conspicuous place. Being now in an especial 
manner the guardian of bridges, his position here is 
more honored than that even of the virgin herself; he 
occupies the very center of the pile,* and may be 
distinguished from the rest by the five stars which 
glitter in their gilding around him; yet is his canon- 
ization an event of little more than a century's 
growth. He was set up by the Jesuits in 1729 in op- 
position to St. John Hus, to whom the Bohemians, 
for many years after the suppression of the protestant 
worship among them, continued 10 pay saintly hon- 
ors; and he continues to this day, in the reverence 
with which he is everywhere greeted — a sort of galling 
and vexatious, because constantly recurring memorial, 
of the system of mental thraldom under which Bo- 
hemia has long groaned." Again; — "Here is the au- 
dience room, for example where the emperor holds his 
levees, or receives such petitions as his loving subjects 
may find an opportunity of presenting. Here likewise 
is the hall of assembly of the states — a plain apart- 
ment adjoining the audience chamber, and com- 
municating with it by a private door. For the states 
appear to go through the form of meeting at appointed 
seasons, and of voting — all the privilege which they 
now enjoy, — such a sum as the crown may think fit to 
require." Again; — "Education in Bohemia as well as 
in the other provinces of the Austrian empire goes on 

* Supposed to be the spot where the traitor was thrown from the 
bridge. But in fact that spot did not exist at that time. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1848 713 

under the strict and unceasing surveillance of the 
police. The clergy in spite of what travelers assert to 
the contrary, have no control over it at all except so far 
as they may possess influence enough with the gov- 
ernment to recommend such text books as are adopted 
in the various seminaries. * * * As the nomination 
to vacant chairs in the university is vested in the board 
of education at Vienna, so by the head of the police 
it is determined by what process eminent philosophers, 
and divines, and lawyers, shall be fabricated. * * * 
It is worthy of remark that not a single lecture is 
delivered in the vernacular language of the country. 
German is indeed employed, where Latin may have 
giown into disrepute; but the Bohemian is a dialect 
of which the use seems restricted to the very lowest 
and most despised of the peasantry." "It would be 
idle to conceal that the extreme vigilance of the gov- 
ernment in these respects, and still more, its bigoted 
hostility to-everything which might recall the recol- 
lection of Bohemian independence has given great 
umbrage to the thinking portion of the people. I have 
conversed with persons of every rank and I found none 
who spoke of it except in bitterness." The author then 
describes the extreme precautions necessary to deliver 
a copy of Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, and a 
number of the foreign "Quarterly Review" to a gen- 
tleman of rank in the country. "Neither did we fail," 
again says our author, "to form acquaintance with the 
people as well of the humbler as of the more exalted 
stations, of which the result in every instance was 
that the favorable impression which had been made 
upon me while wandering among the mountains, 
suffered no diminution. I found them to be — in the 
city not less than among the villages — a kind-hearted, 



714 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

industrious and most patient race. Th3 higher orders 
spoke, too, indignantly of the centralizing system, of 
the ban that had gone forth against their beloved lan- 
guage, of the extinction of their privileges, and the 
efforts that are making to blot out the very remem- 
brance of their nationality. 'But it will not succeed,' 
was the usual termination of such harangues. 'We 
have no idea of shaking off the yoke; * *. * but we 
shall never be content till the laws are everywhere 
administered in a language which is intelligible to the 
people, and we and they be permitted to exercise 
some control over our own affairs.' * * * I ventured 
to ask whether the sentiments to which he gave ut- 
terance were generally entertained in Bohemia. 'By 
ail orders and degrees of men,' was his answer; * * * 
'You may depend upon it that we feel our degrada- 
tion acutely.' * * * My companion bid me lookout. 
I did so and saw two or three groups of cuirassiers 
lounging about. 'These are the emperor's sureties 
for our good behavior,' observed he with a smile; 
'twelve or fourteen thousand men at Prague, three or 
four thousand at Koniggratz — a regiment at Tabor, 
and squadrons scattered as you see through the vil- 
lages."* 

These statements are here introduced as in all re- 
spects sustaining the detailed narrative of the preced- 
ing pages. Our readers will be all the better pre- 
pared for the events of 1848, and the following years. 

Our traveler was not likely to penetrate beneath the 
surface; and if he did his official position would have 
prevented him from criticism. But at that precise 
date began those contentions between the Bohemian 

* Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, by the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M. 
A., vol. II., pp. 289, 292, 299, 328, 351. 362, etc. 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1^48 715 

estates and the government that have not yet been 
finally removed. The emperor Francis died March 
2nd, 1835. The transition to a new sovereign, and 
another minister afforded an opportunity for the 
seething discontent of Bohemia to reveal itself. 
For a long period the estates had attached no import- 
ance to the proceedings of the diet. In fact even the 
form of voting the taxes had lain dormant for a gen- 
eration. The suggestion of the emperor sufficed. 
Even the supposed consent of the diet had frequently 
been anticipated, although such conduct amounted to 
an open usurpation. The duty of obtaining the con- 
sent of the diet belonged to the chief Burg-graf, who 
during the later years of the emperor Francis, in the 
person of Count Chotek, enjoyed tlie confidence of 
both. But under a new emperor, and amid the grow- 
ing strength of public opinion, the estates presented 
a statement to the court at Vienna. Their explana- 
tions were favorably heard ; and contests with the 
chief Burg graf breams established. The estates com- 
plained of other infringements of their privileges, the 
appointment of officers not qualified, as in the case of 
Count Salm, successor of Count Chotek. The estates 
had not dared to remonstrate in 181 t, when the same 
usurpation had been committed. Count Salm was 
compelled to qualify by property in Bohemia received 
from his brother. This victory led to remonstrances 
of the misapplication of the domestic fund; next to 
claims over the distribution and allotment of direct 
taxes. These proceedings were materially strength- 
ened by an order from the united court chancery to the 
estates, to make regular parliamentary decrees, to con- 
nect their claims with the votes for taxes, and to de- 
fer the decree, as well as the levying of the taxes, to 



7 1 6 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MI A 

the time when their claims should be recognized. 
Here, without any intention, the entire constitutional 
rights of the estates were recalled, and insisted on by 
the government itself. The entire question of na- 
tional sovereignty as represented by the estates was 
reopened and pressed on the attention of Europe. The 
cup of Tantalus had been long held to the lips of Bo- 
hemia. Now a little of the contents was tasted and 
the thirst for more became maddening. During these 
disputes the emperor was constantly reminded of his 
.coronation oath. As on several previous occasions this 
boldness was encouraged by influential persons in 
Vienna, and in fact by the ruling classes. Hence it 
was disregarded. Abusive speeches were explained 
awa}'^ as directed against foolish councillors. Thus 
encouraged, the public discontent intensified. The 
bureaucracy received all the odium as they had claimed 
a commission as universal providence. The foreign 
press praised the states; and this body soon enlarged 
their complaints. They chose a commission to exam- 
ine their archives in support of their demands. Here 
was dangerous ground, where* every step led to a 
volcano. They next extended their revision to matters 
that affected the country at large, and assumed the 
attitude of representatives of the people. Every step 
tended to undermine public confidence in the govern- 
ment. The national spirit was aroused. Even those 
persons who scarcely understood Bohemian assumed 
the character of national advocates. Bills of fare in 
all hotels and taverns were expressed in the Bohe- 
mian language; invitations to parties were also issued 
in that speech; although every man and woman who 
received them habitually used German. The streets 
were rebaptized in Bohemian. The common employ- 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1848 717 

ment of both languages had smoothed down all feel- 
ings against the Germans. The children were encour- 
aged to learn both languages; and the present diverg- 
ence was based solely on a design to weaken the cen- 
tral administration. This silent battle had continued 
for twelve years; and in 1847 at length led to an open 
rupture. Among the tyrannical devices adopted after 
1620 to rsduce the stubborn townsmen and impoverish 
them was a system compelling them, especially the 
royal towns, to defray the constantly increasing ex- 
penses of the criminal courts out of their own funds. 
At first the criminals to be punished were the re- 
formed pastors and people; but as this class disap- 
peared from sight the abuse continued in the cases of 
other malefactors, and these grew increasingly numer- 
ous. These towns now protested against this exac- 
tion. The amount reached 50,000 florins annually and 
was felt with especial severity as the current coin 
was worth only 20 per cent of its face. No authority 
whatever in law could be produced for this extortion; 
and the government, unable to continue it in that 
form, proposed to transfer the burden to the domestic 
fund. Here again the government was defeated, as 
the charge belonged directly to the state. But the 
error was committed of adding the required amount 
to the direct taxes of Bohemia. The extra charge was 
successfully carried through the parliament in 1845 
and 1846, not without opposition; but no title was 
given to this item as it had not been customary to 
explain to the estates the allotment of the taxes. In 
1847 the position of the diet before the country em- 
boldened them to ask the government by what author- 
ity the additional amount, now demanded for 1848 
had been imposed since 1845. This challenge accused 



7 1 8 HIS TOR Y OF B ORE MIA 

the authorities of usurpation and tyranny since 1630; 
and placed the estates in the position they had occu- 
pied under the regular constitution. Bohemia in her 
proper person spoke again. The government required 
the allotment of the taxes in the same proportion as 
hitherto. The estates refused in order to maintain 
their principle; but afterwards consented in the inter- 
est of the public service. Thus the government came 
into direct conflict with every provincial body of es- 
tates. The authorities imposed the taxes by the chair- 
man of the estates with the assumed privity of the es- 
tates themselves. The taxes were assessed in fact in 
the office of the estates without parliamentary sanc- 
tion. These proceedings inflamed the national feel- 
ing all through the empire. The committee appointed 
to investigate the subject in the archives had preparad 
a voluminous report, and deposited it in the archives 
for future use. 

This report recalled, revived, resuscitated, and 
resurrected all the fundamental rights, privileges, 
and jurisdiction of Bohemia, as already set down 
in these pages. It asserted first the right of the 
nation to elect its own king in case the present dy- 
nasty should become extinct. This right has recently 
been asserted in open parliament. The report also 
demanded that the imposition of taxes should depend 
on the previous consent of the estates; and that their 
advice should be accepted on every law and regulation 
affecting the nation, This boldness betokened a con- 
sciousness of strength at home, and support abroad. 
In fact the community of purpose existing in all the 
departments of the Austrian dominions was perfectly 
well ascertained. Bohemia, Lower Austria, Hungary 
and Moravia had combined. The last two centuries 



BOHEMIA FROM 1782 TO 1848 719 

had created a wide chasm between the privileged and 
unprivileged classes; and this space the estates now 
strove to abolish. 

The government next attempted to effect a com- 
proniise by creating a special department in the 
united court chancery to regulate these subjects 
on the basis of supposed equity. The proposal 
came too late. Bohemia knew perfectly well that the 
estates of the kingdom never owed their origin, their 
power, or their position in the government to any 
king, or emperor. They had always been the national 
constituency formally co ordinate with the executive ; 
that instead of being created they were the source of 
royal prerogative and power ; that they were the na- 
tion in its essence. The recover}- of this dignity be- 
came now the basis of the dispute, and will always be 
such basis so long as Bohemia exists. The memory 
of similar privileges enjoyed by Lower Austria now 
created very strong feeling and popular excitement in 
Vienna. The materials for revolution being thus in- 
flammable in Austria the match was applied by the 
revolution of February, 1848, in France. The news 
reached Prague early in March at the moment when 
the estates were preparing for the anticipated strug- 
gle on the meeting of the diet. The people of Prague 
heard with bated breath the exciting thunder from 
Paris, as if the sound should reach them tlirough the 
air. Everywhere apprehension — expectancy. General 
sentiment in Prague was well prepared as the city 
was and is proud of her ancient glory. The flight of 
King Louis Philippe created not even a flutter of ex- 
citement. 

Bohemians felt the current of events far better 
than their rulers who thought only in cannon, 



720 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

and despised the needle gun, and popular sentiment 
infinitely more formidable than either. Taught by 
terrible experience Austria hesitated to crush. Mon 
archs in Europe felt alarmed. Germany demanded 
reforms, and Bohemia breathed easier. Some constitu- 
tional principles were conceded in other nations, and 
Bohemia expected the same benefits. But Austria, 
really only a slave of Rome, dared not forsake her 
rigid adherence to obsolete political superstitions. 
The proletariat of Paris was pointed to, and its possi- 
ble excesses, even greater than those witnessed, were 
made the excuse for hesitancy. The initiative denied 
b)' official stupidity devolved of necessity on the 
bourgeois. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

BOHEMIA FROM 1 848 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

One bold and persistent advocate appeared, — Peter 
Faster — keeper ot a coffee-house in Prague. In this 
retreat the journalists and politicians assembled. From 
the moment when Faster became proprietor of this 
establishment — "The Golden Goose," it became his- 
torical. Faster was a sturdy bourgeois. He boasted 
no nobility; he had too much sense to do so. He 
was an earnest man of affairs, straightforward, honor- 
able, and persistent. His character and his hostelry 
both invited the progressive thinkers of the city. 
Paster's intellectual calibre was far above the level of 
his modest business, and he speedily acquired fore- 
most rank among the practical politicians engaged in 
promoting the national cause. An association in the 
form of a club grew up; and all prominent citi- 
zens, German and Chekh, received invitations to 
join. March nth, an evening meeting was held at 
Wenzel's Bath and an attempt was made to compose 
a petition to the emperor Ferdinand for necessary ad- 
ministrative reforms. The police, — for the first time 
in centuries, — did not interfere. But revolution seemed 
imminent, and military and cannon were held in read- 
iness. Dying absolutism was nevertheless powerless 
to prohibit. Force would set Europe ablaze. The 
great hall was full. Burghers, students, notables 
thronged the chamber Faster opened the meeting, 

721 



722 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

explained its object, and detailed the reforms re- 
quired. His speech was delivered in Bohemian and 
was translated into German by Troggau. The peti- 
tion was laid before the meeting, and the following 
reforms were asked for : 

I. National equality of Bohemians and Germans 
in schools, courts of justice, and all authorities, and 
the appointment of officials from both equally. 

II. Renewal of the political relation of Bohemia, 
Moravia, and Silesia, with a parliament at Briinn and 
Prague alternately. 

III. A free communal constitution, burghers and 
farmers being represented, and the election of town 
magistrates. 

IV. Equality of all religions. 

V. Independence in the courts and publicity in the 
proceedings. 

VI. Freedom of the press with regulations against 
its abuse. 

VII. A responsible central administration. 

VIII. Abolition of feudal burdens, and privileged 
courts, and of enforced labor for the lords (robota). 

IX. Abolition of the tax on articles of consump- 
tion. 

X. Alteration of the stamp and tax laws, 

XI. Universal liability to military service. Recruit- 
ing by ballot. Four years military service. 

XII. Security of personal liberty. No imprison- 
ment but by a judicial sentence. 

These rights were those which the Bohemians had 
always claimed as of fundamental institution under 
their laws, although in some respects their primitive 
procedure had not embodied them in formal habeas 
corpus acts and bills of rights. Their national system 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 723 

had not required scientific expression of these enact- 
ments. In the above demands both Bohemians and 
Germans combined; and the expression "Bohemians 
and Germans are one body" became universal through 
the countr}^ 

The meeting elected a committee to present this 
petition to the emperor. It was composed of twenty- 
seven persons of different ranks and professions, 
Bohemian and German, and was denominated the 
St. Wenzel's committee. The president was Adel- 
bert. Count Dejm, one of the few remaining na- 
tional nobility working with the national party. 
The meeting was in all respects orderly and organized 
and was dismissed soon after 10 p. m. The govern- 
ment at Vienna felt the general menace abroad, and 
the movers of these proceedings, who only a few short 
months before would have disappeared in dungeons, 
were left unmolested and free. But had the events 
been different scaffolds would have been reddened. 
In Vienna itself the effect of these movements was 
felt likewise, and on March 13th, reforms were demand- 
ed. The iron absolutism of Metternich still predom- 
inated. Vienna witnessed strife and bloodshed; but 
Ferdinand submitted and Metternich was dismissed. 
The emperor also promised a constitution — an empty 
promise based on mental reservation. On the same 
day the censorship was abolished and a national guard 
permitted. The emperor still further promised to 
convoke a national assembly not later than July 3rd, 
to prepare a constitution. All these tidings diffused 
joy and quietness through Bohemia. When the tel- 
egram announcing the last concession was received in 
the theatre, where the governor, Rudolph Stadion an- 
nounced it, it created intense enthusiasm. A torch- 



724 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA - 

light procession was organized under the leadership of 
Prince Kamil Rohan. All was joy and peace. Next 
day the streeets of Prague were gay with national 
cockades of white and red. Every man wore one. The 
petition to the emperor was presented for signatures 
in many places, and signed. A national guard was 
organized and received arms from the government 
armory. Some students originated an academical le- 
gion, and some eccentric costumes were exhibited. 
Peter Faster received the soubriquet of King of Bohe- 
mia and henceforward enjoyed the title undisturbed 
and uncrucified. Every symptom of tumult was easily 
composed by the national guard; and companies of 
this body were organized by the artizan and labor 
population. 

St. WenzeVs committee was promoted to the dig- 
nity of Committee of Public Safety, and to Faster 
was assigned the honorary position of arbitrator or 
dictator. The city officials appointed by the emperor 
lost all jurisdiction, and Paster's orders were univer- 
sally obe3'ed. He was judicious and prudent, and ex- 
hibited in his proceedings the true national sentiment 
for which alone Bohemia had ever contended, — na- 
tional liberty in education, religion and government; 
and social order to enjoy and perpetuate national in- 
stitutions bequeathed by national rights. 

Notwithstanding these joyous and grateful demon- 
strations the decree of March 15th, amounted to little 
more than a mockery. It ran as follows : 

MOST HIGH DECREE, 

We, Ferdinand the First, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, 
King of Hungary and Bohemia, the fifth of the name; King of Lom- 
bardy and Venice, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Gallicia, Lodome- 
ria, and lUyria; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 725 

Styria, Carniola, Carinthia, Upper and Lower Silesia; Grand Duke 
of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia, Princely Count of Habsburg 
and Tyrol, etc., etc., have now adopted such measures as we have 
deemed necessary to satisfy the wishes of our loyal people. 

The freedom of the press is by our declaration of the abolition of 
the censorship established in the same manner as in all other states 
where it exists. 

A national guard constituted on the basis of property and intelli- 
gence already discharges its salutary duties. 

The necessary steps have been taken for a convocation of represent- 
atives of all the provincial estates, and of the central congregations of 
the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom in the shortest possible time, in 
order with an increasedrepresentation of the citizens- and paying re^ 
gard to the existing provincial constitutions, to co-operate in the con- 
stitution of the country which has been determined on by us. 

Accordingly we expect with confidence that men's minds be tran- 
quilized, that the studies (of the universities) will resume regular 
course, that trade and peaceful commerce will again revive. 

We entertain this hope the more, because having been among you 
to-day, we have convinced ourselves, with feelings of emotion, that 
the loyalty and attachment which for centuries you have uninterrupt- 
edly paid to our ancestors, and also to ourselves upon every occasion, 
inspires you now as heretofore. 

Given in our imperial residence and capital City of Vienna. March 
15, 1848, the fourteenth year of our reign. 

Ferdinand (L. S.). 
Charles Count von Inzaghi, 
High Chancelor. 
Francis Baron von Pillersdorf. 

Aulic Chancelor. 
Joseph Baron von Weingarten, 
Aulic Chancelor. 
In obedience to his Imperial and Royal apostolic majesty's high 
express commands, Peter Ritter von Satzgeber, 

Imperial and Royal Privy Councilor. 

March 19th, the deputation proceeded to Vienna. 
Crowds applauded them. The streets shone with pro- 
fuse decorations. A mass was served at the statue of 
St. Wenzel by Archbishop Schrenk. The church 
hastened to assume a new role, — new indeed in Bohe- 



726 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

mia. Germans and Bohemians in Prague cordially 
co-operated. It was the honeymoon of the revolution. 
Slowly the enthusiasm subsided as all these hopes 
proved to be only expectances. A separate organiza- 
tion called Svornost or Concord was effected in the 
national guard; and the red cross adopted as em- 
blem. Some acts exhibited ill feeling toward the 
Jews and a mob assembled in the Jews' quarter. But 
the Svornost easily restored order. This body, how- 
ever, soon fell into disfavor. In the rural districts, 
where in days of old the principles of liberty had been 
not only understood but hereditar}^, the people now 
imagined that liberty meant community of goods. In 
a few places they killed game and wondered when 
punished therefor. 

The deputation was welcomed at Vienna; but dis- 
appointed at court. The government constitution 
was only paper. The Bohemian and Moravian nobili- 
ty sent a counter deputation; both received an ambig- 
uous answer; and returned March 27th. The sealed 
answer was conveyed to the Wenzel Platz, Te Deum 
sung — answer read. Some parts of the petition had 
been already allowed, it said ; others were more import- 
ant and were delayed. Only one was granted at once 
— the purchase of robota. Each man was allowed to 
buy out for himself according to his obligations — 
some one day — others more to the civil or ecclesias- 
tical lords. The government temporized. The most 
important reforms were delayed. Bohemia was only 
a province, they said, and did not need more self- 
government than it had. But Bohemia had found a 
voice, and now demanded of the crown recognition in 
its national character on the standpoint it had by na- 
tional rights founded on agreements not yet destroyed. 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 727 

They wanted these compactata revived and put in 
force, Dissatisfaction prevailed at the delay and ap- 
parent insincerity of the court. St. Wenzel's commit- 
tee convened a new meeting on March 28th, when a 
new petition was prepared. In this second document 
they asked the union of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia 
under a common representative system, where not only 
the nobility but all the people without any distinction 
should be represented. They desired the calling of 
a constitutional convention for the first purpose; they 
claimed also their own ministry of the interior for 
Bohemia; and a more definite and clear declaration of 
national equality in schools, in courts etc. Count 
Stadion was invited to sign this petition. At first he 
refused, but was induced to sign it; and on March 
31st, anew deputation proceeded to Vienna. 

These proceedings stimulated the enemies of Bohe- 
mia to action. A journal at Reichenberg denounced 
the Bohemians as anarchists, as Chekh ultras, and at- 
tempted to drown them in ridicule. Only Germans 
were encouraged to unite for German purposes. 

Up to this date, — March 31st, complete harmony 
reigned between the two nationalities in Bohemia. 
But this journal, the "Reichenberg Advertiser," con- 
tinued its attacks. The journalists of both races in 
Prague accordingly held a meeting and agreed to con- 
duct the discussion in an amicable, orderly manner. 
The government officers did not offer any obstacle to 
these proceedings. Some nobles forwarded a petition 
of their own in harmony with that of the other citi- 
zens. Accordingly young Francis Joseph, nephew of 
the emperor, was dispatched to Bohemia as imperial 
governor, April 6th, but no progress was made. 

The national party needed a journal capable of ex- 



728 HIS TOR Y OF B O HE MIA 

plaining and sustaining the national wants. All this 
as late as A. D. 1848! "The National J^evjs," A^arodni 
Noviny, with Charles Havlicek as editor was founded. 
This publication advocated equality of both national- 
ities, unification of the kingdom, equality of all before 
the law, the jury s3'stem, a responsible ministry, a 
national assembly, national guard, reform of the 
schools and public service. St. Wenzel's committee 
was enlarged and now became the national committee. 

April 8th, the emperor's cabinet rescript was received 
permitting and promising concessions of those points 
of the petition perviously refused : — 

Perfect equality in the use of the Bohemian and 
German languages in all branches of, general adminis- 
tration and public instruction ; in the place of meeting 
of the Bohemian estates shortly to assemble, a pro- 
portionate representation of the people, including all 
interests, formed upon the broadest basis of represen- 
tative and elective qualifications; with a right to take 
part in debating and determining all the affairs of the 
country; the establishment of a responsible central 
board of officials for the kingdom of Bohemia in 
Prague, with a wider sphere of operation ; the appoint- 
ment of persons conversant with both languages to 
public and judicial offices; the free right of petition. 
The number of the diet was increased; one member 
was provided for each town of 4,000 inhabitants, two 
for a town with 8,000 and two members for each cir- 
cle. Elections to be direct, and every person, not a 
criminal, of twenty-five years of age, who paid taxes 
possessed the right to vote. Every Bohemian was 
eligible as a representative. 

This cabinet order was published in the official part 
of the "Vienna Gazette," April nth. 




Charles Havlicek. 



FROM 1 84^ 2 THE PRESENT TIME 729 

The unification of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia was 
referred to the imperial parliament. This last pro- 
posal was regarded as an insult to Bohemian national 
rights. But no open protest was made. Palackj' 
offered an explanation of this grievance, but its form 
was not acceptable to the authorities. 

The national committee began preparations for the 
new elections, and propositions for the institutions ex- 
pected. But disturbances in the empire again inter- 
vened. The Hungarians had presented demands in 
Vienna, March 15, after the proclamation of the con- 
stitution, asking for an independent ministr}' of their 
own. Lombardy and Venetia attempted a separation 
from Austria. At Cracow the Poles revolted but were 
crushed by a bombardment. At Frankfort the repre- 
sentatives of all the German nations assembled to 
combine the German race under one imperial parlia- 
ment. The small governments necessarily yielded. 
The parliament was assembled at Frankfort and began 
the work of a constitution for the German empire. As 
the Austrian provinces belonged to the German Union 
the Germans there asked to be united to Germany. 
German students at Vienna pressed the German tri- 
color into the hands of the emperor. Palacky was in- 
vited to appear at Frankfort but he refused saying that 
it did not become a Bohemian and Austrian to present 
himself there to take part with them. But the minis- 
try at Vienna proclaimed elections in all Austrian 
lands for the parliament to assemble at Frankfort. 
This measure created profound dissatisfaction, and 
some disturbances in Bohemia. The national com- 
mittee refused to hold an election and presented their 
protest at Vienna. At this point the German mem- 
bers of the committee withdrew from it, and establish- 



730 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

ed another of their own, which they called the con- 
stitutional union, inimical to Bohemian nationality. 
The ministry regardless of the protest ordered elec- 
tions throughout Bohemia. Some commissioners from 
Frankfort appeared at Prague and finding the Bohe- 
mians averse to their proposals threatened open war 
unless representatives were sent to Frankfort. These 
threats incited the people and students at Prague; 
and a Slavonic committee was organized to invite all 
Slav peoples in Austria to a convention "on the 31st 
of May in the ancient city of Prague to take counsel 
for the interests of their race, and especially to coun- 
teract the absorbing influence of the Germanic body 
about to meet in Frankfort." 

During these effervescences of politics Bohemia was 
disturbed in man)- places. Officers were without pow- 
er, and courts were disorganized. Count Leo Thun 
was sent as governor. He was an excellent man and 
a devoted Bohemian patriot. But popular passion 
and disorder largely thwarted his efforts. The weak- 
ness and vacillation of the ministry, the insincerity of 
the court, "willing to wound and yet afraid to strike, " 
created this disorder. 

Absolutism, or the nearest possible approach to it, 
formed in fact the only system they would tolerate 
unless under compulsion. 

Pillersdorf the premier, under the pretense of meet- 
ing the wishes of the students and agitators in Vienna, 
abandoned his project of calling the assembly of the 
different nations, and prepared a new constitution 
that disregarded all the constituent kingdoms, and 
concentrated all legislative power in the central parlia- 
ments. But the Bohemians lost all patience and con- 
fidence in the court when weeks elapsed and no con- 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 731 

stjtutional convention was called. At this juncture, 
May 15th, the excited students and national guard of 
Vienna broke into revolt, and compelled the emperor 
to rescind the constitution of April 15th. Ferdinand, 
imbecile and alarmed, fled on the night of May 17th to 
Linz and Innsbruck, Hence a panic all over Aus- 
tria. The election to Frankfort fell utterly — only 
three votes polled. Lombardy was insurgent. Hungary 
was ruled by its own ministry as if Austria did not 
exist. The Croatians and Serbians fiercely opposed 
Hungary through antagonism of race and traditions. 
They were led by the Ban Jelacic and patriarch Raj- 
acic, and resented the rule of Hungarians which they 
regarded as oppressive usurpation. Vienna itself was 
in the hands of the committee of safety consisting of 
students, burghers, and national guards and the min- 
istry was powerless. 

At Prague Count Leo Thun organized a provisional 
government loyal to the throne, consisting of the chiefs 
of the national committee. Two of the members, Rie- 
ger and Count Nostic waited on the emperor at Inns- 
bruc k; but Pillersdorf 's ministry, as might be expected, 
took deep umbrage at this action. 

June 2nd, the Slav congress consisting of three hun- 
dred deputies assembled at Prague, and included the 
chief persons of all the Slav nationalities in Aus- 
tria, — Bohemians, Moravians, Slavonians, Poles, Rus- 
sians, Croatians, Serbians. Palacky* the deservedly re- 
nowned historian presided; Safarik, the vice-presi- 
dent, delivered the address in Bohemian. His language^ 
while guarded, was stimulating. He denounced gov- 
ernment by means of bayonets and spies; repudiated 
the calumny that Slavs did not possess the same rights 

* Pronounced Palatsky. 



732 HTSTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of liberty and self-government as other nations; as- 
serted their capacity to think for themselves as well 
as Germans in Frankfort could think for themj de- 
nounce'd the tyranny that treated all efforts for pol- 
itical amelioration as treason; and declared that by 
such false pretenses of those in authority the Slavs 
universally had been reduced to political, and largely 
also to social bondage, Szafarik further encouraged 
unity among the Slavs, and demanded courage in the 
impending contest. 

This congress has formed the object of unceas- 
ing ridicule by the Germans. It did not pro- 
pound an}' definite plan or principle, because the 
fraud and violence of the Austria court, and the im- 
patience of the Bohemians, created fatal interruption 
of its proceedings. The congress, however, resolved to 
publish a pronunciamento to all Europe; to present to 
the emperor a memorial containing their complaints 
and wants; and finally to co-operate constitutionally 
in regaining their national equality. The congress in 
fact announced that the reign of the ballot was ap- 
proaching, and that they had the votes and the deter- 
mination to use them. The debates, warm, able, and 
earnest, conferred much valuable political education. 

A momentous series of events destroyed their plans 
and hopes for the time. The people at large were ex- 
cited and impatient, the soldiers of Prince Windisch- 
Graetz deliberately insulting, for the purpose of provo- 
cation, as on many previous occasions. As in the 
days of Otakar I. and II. many of the nobles enticed 
by court distinction disarmed popular sympathies and 
leagued themselves with German intrigues. Every 
eminence including the citadel bristled with cannon. 
The burghers and students expressed their apprehen- 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT 7 1 ME 733 

sions to the prince and asked that these menaces be 
removed. Disdain was their only answer. The 12th 
of June a popular fete was organized in the open air 
before St. Wenzel's statue. Here the students and 
citizens renewed their pledge of unity. A large crowd 
of curiosity seekers were also present, not knowing 
that in the midst of that quiet throng were hired em- 
issaries sent to provoke a breach of the peace in the 
ver}' presence of the garrison headquarters. Instantly 
the troops in readiness charged the unarmed multi- 
tude with bayonets. Many fell dead ; the crowd dis- 
persed. A cry was raised, "To arms! Barricades." In 
half an hour a hundred street obstructions were erected. 
The troops in solid column marched to the Museum. 
Here were preserved the public records, archives, 
books, national memories, all that related the history 
of the country. Here also the Svornost* kept its ar- 
mory; and here the congress assembled and preserved 
its records. Fire was opened at once on the building 
on pretense of a pistol shot from a window. Fire 
was also directed against the Blue Star hotel and the 
Black Horse hotel, where lodged the Polish members 
of congress. The Polytechnic school, and the Clem- 
entinum resisted. Ten thousand Austrians were hurled 
against these points and shells fired into them. Court- 
iers had invited help from the suburban districts. 
They arrived but were repelled at the gates and assured 
that all was now peaceably arranged. The conflict 
raged four days, until the houses bombarded blazed 
over the heads of the defenders. Only when the 
barricades were threatened from the rear did the Pol- 
ish combatants desist.f Proscription, prison, perse- 

* Meaning Concord — the citizens' legion of national guard. 

f See L'Histoire de la Revolution de 1848, par M. Garnier Pages. 



734 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

cution. Four hundred and eighty-three persons died 
in. hospital. The actual number of the slain is not 
known. A large part of the city was destroyed, as 
the Austrian artillery on Mount Petrin and the Bel- 
videre, as well as on redoubt Marie absolutely com- 
manded the defenseless edifices. It is said that Win- 
disch-Graetz sickened at the butchery but was com- 
pelled to continue the bombardment by express or- 
ders. Bohemia again fell prostrate at the feet of her 
persecutor, as remoseless in heart as before, but this 
time far less capable of cruelty. 

The results of this sudden and unprepared insurrec- 
tion were the breaking up of the Slav ' congress, the 
revocation of the constitutional convention, and the 
dissolution of the national committee.* Soon after- 
ward the elections were held for the general Bohe- 
mian assembly. The program of the representatives 
included the defense of national rights and constitu- 
tional liberties, and the preservation of undivided 
Austria against the German and Hungarian program 
that consisted of the division of Austria into two parts 
the German and the Hungarian. Germany proposed 
to absorb all the western part of Austria, and Hungary 
the eastern portion, and all Slavs in Austria would be 
subject to the one or the other. 

Before this congress could assemble in Bohemia, 
minister Pillersdorf was forced to resign and the new 
ministry was formed with Doblhoff and Bach at their 
head representing the Frankfort party in Vienna. 

But this party was speedily found to be impossible 
in Austria as it must result in anarchy and chaos, and 

* Faster retired to private life and died in 1868 proprietor of a 
brewery at Brevnov. Havlicek was banished to Tyrol; and died 
in 1856 not without strong suspicion of poison. 





Francis Palacky. 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 735 

the ministry accepted the political program of the 
Bohemians. This parliament abolished the robota 
totally, and prepared the new constitution. During 
this interval the Ban Jelacic in defending Slavic in- 
terests in Hungary against the government of Buda 
Pesth approached the capital and the Hungarians sent 
to Vienna for assistance. Their messengers were not 
heard in parliament. On the contrary Count Latour 
was dispatched with some troops to aid Jelacic whose 
undertakings were regarded as favorable to the preser- 
vation of undivided Austria. During the absence of 
the military the Viennese mob became violent. Octo- 
ber 6th, Minister Latour was attacked and killed 
and his body hung to a lamp-post. Bach saved him- 
self from a similar fate by flight. The parliament was 
beleaguered and powerless; and the Bohemian and 
other representatives abandoned Vienna to its fate. 
Hearing of these violences the Ban Jelacic from one 
side and prince Windisch-Graetz from the other in- 
vested the city; and after a desperate struggle seized 
it, and advanced against the Magyars. 

At the announcement of the murder of his minister, 
Latour the emperor Ferdinand fled to Olmiitz. In 
order to withdraw the assembly from revolutionary 
influences he prorogued the diet, October 22nd, to 
meet the following month at Kromieriz (Kremsier) 
a small town in Moravia. Here the sittings were re- 
sumed November 22nd; a new cabinet under Count 
Schwartzenberg, formerly ambassador to St. Peters- 
burg and Naples and a fierce supporter of absolutism, 
having in the meantime been installed. He was as- 
sisted by Count Stadion former governor of Gallicia. 
At this period the prospects not only of the empire 
but of the dynasty were being most seriously debated 



736 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

at a series of family councils where only the most 
trusted ministers were admitted ; and these favored 
ones were Windisch-Graetz and Jelacic. On the ist of 
December, the emperor resolved to abdicate. The 
archduke Francis Charles renounced his right of suc- 
cession; and by pragmatic consent Francis Joseph, son 
of the archduke, succeeded to the throne. The follow- 
ing day December 2nd, the diet was convened in ex- 
traordmary session. Here the unexpected announce- 
ment of the dynastic change was published. The as- 
sembly could only ratify the proceedings and accept 
the new sovereign. 

Perhaps with sincerity Francis Joseph declared and 
believed himself to be constitutional monarch. His 
ministry spoke of a constitution. But his first procla- 
mation wherein he declared his hope "to be able to 
make all the nations and all the races of the empire 
one compact state," and the influences by which he 
was governed, demonstrated a fixed purpose of auto- 
cratic centralization, His choice lay between avowed 
absolutism, dualism, and federalism. The Slav prov- 
inces demanded the last of these three for obvious 
reasons. The principal obstacle to this form arose 
from the ambition and effort of the Germans to ad- 
vance their political power toward the east. Their 
motto "Drang nach Qsten" "Advance to the East" 
had been enforced for centuries. In pursuance of this 
policy the party of Greater Germany had insisted on 
the exclusion of Austria from the Germanic union. 
The Austrian cabinet combated this position by de- 
claring the Austrian empire independent and indis- 
soluable. Emboldened by German opposition to feder- 
alism Schwartzenberg in 1851 had declared "the con- 
stitution of the 4th of March only a foundation where- 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 737 

on to build up the authority of the throne. " We have 
seen this declaration acted on during the ten years 
that followed. We have seen the same irreconcila- 
ble war of centralizing absolutism against the nation- 
alities of the empire. On this basis the assembly was 
expected to conduct its proceedings. Palacky's plan 
of a constitution providing for four chief ministers, 
war, marine, finance and exterior, conferring complete 
autonomy on each province, with power to elect de- 
puties to the central diet, became adverse fundamen- 
tally to the imperial program. Of the provinces seven 
were named, German, Bohemian, Polish, Italian, 
Jongo-Slav, Magyar and Valaque. Each of these was 
to be represented by a special chancery. This pro- 
posal required the assent of Hungary; but Hungarian 
deputies never arrived. The conflict became limited 
to Germans and Slavs. The partizans of Frankfort 
beheld in imagination a German empire extending 
from the Baltic to the Adriatic, from the Rhine to the 
Vistula. A certain Bismarck was present. The poli- 
cies of the diet consorted ill with imperial ideas; and 
under pretense that the absence of Hungary rendered 
the proceedings nugatory, the emperor announced, on 
the 6th of March, 1849, to a certain number of depu. 
ties specially convoked, that he had decided to pro- 
vide a constitution for his people himself. The 
Chekh deputies demanded the constitution of April 8th 
preceding. All in vain. The following day the hall 
of assembly was in possession of the military; and 
the assembly had no choice but to disperse. Thus 
Hungary three times within two years entirely de- 
stroyed the efforts of Bohemia. 

On the publication of this supposed constitution, 
which was a mere paper decree, and might be utterly 



738 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

abrogated at any suitable moment, as all similar 
decrees had been, the emperor dismissed the illusion 
at Frankfort, pacified Hungary in the manner publicly 
known to mankind, crushed Venice, received Georgia's 
capitulation, and being now a mere subordinate of Rus- 
sia proceeded with the most oppressive re-actionary 
measures in details. The constitution did not extend 
to Bohemia; but the severities penetrated every- 
where. Count Stadion, now mentally helpless, was 
replaced by a Viennese lawyer named Bach, a jurist 
of the Jeffries variety. No prescriptive right, no na- 
tional claim however just, no individual liberty how- 
ever necessary for the ordinary exercise of human fac- 
ulties, no social requirements^ however salutary and 
demanded by commerce and the essentials of national 
life, obtained the least respect from this anarchistic 
jurisconsult. He openly declared that all the imperial 
promises and obligations of the previous year had been 
only pretense, and never seriously intended. Here 
he probably spoke the truth. A war without pity or 
remorse at once began against all signs and sem- 
blances of popular or national liberty. Every detail 
of self government in any department, religious and 
municipal, at once disappeared. Every appearance of 
Slavism was trampled out to make room for German 
persons, principles, customs, language and official 
recognition. Hungary remonstrated seriously on her 
own account; and secured some rights. Bohemia 
asked similar concessions, especially the restoration of 
Moravia. At this period' the press of Bohemia ex- 
isted almost solely in the face of persecutions and 
prosecutions intended to annihilate its existence. Mil- 
itary power ruled supreme. December 31, 1851, the 
emperor declared himself liberated from all constitu- 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 739 

tional restraint. Tedious years succeeded. The Bo- 
hemian nation again disappeared from the eyes of 
mankind. America was blinded by the glare of Louis 
Kossuth, and totally lost sight of the Slavs whom 
Kossuth had endeavored to subjugate. England wor- 
shiped the Austrian idol almost as in 1810. Bureau- 
cracy reigned as it had seventy years previously. 
Austria believed she rested on a solid foundation. 
She "sat upon bayonets" and supposed the atttiude 
comfortable and permanent. In reality the empire 
quivered on the thin crust of a scarcely concealed 
volcano. • The constitution of March 4, 1849, was 
formally suppressed by letters patent January i, 1852, 
and absolutism again proclaimed throughout the em- 
pire. 

In 1853 Schwarzenberg died and left the recreant 
and reactionary Bach supreme. The election of muni- 
cipal bodies was suspended, the equality of German 
and Chekh languages was violated. Havlicek, al- 
though acquitted by a jury was exiled to Brixen in 
Tyrol. The liberty of the press was at an end, 

and not a single newspaper was permitted in the 
Chekh language. The motive for all this, independ- 
ent of the persistent absolutism of church and state, 
arose from the settled policy to secure and extend Aus- 
trian influence in Germany. To this end the German 
party was favored by the oppression of the Slavs. For 
a short time this policy seemed successful; but the 
Bohemians had recovered heart and hope and public 
opinion ; and the national elasticity reasserted itself. 
The government and the church confederated in this 
system. In 1849 the Austrian prelates assembled in 
Vienna had denounced national movements. They 
were declared to be "a remnant of paganism;" and 



740 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

"differences of language" reprobated "as the conse- 
quence of sin and the fall of man." The government 
resolved to extinguish the last remnants of Josephism. 
Hence the Concordat of 1855. This agreement de- 
clared Roman Catholic worship privileged, authorized 
the publication of all pontifical documents without 
reference to the civil power ; subjected all education 
public and private to the control of the bishops, and 
forbade the circulation of any book not sanctioned by 
them. This in 1855. The result was intellectual 
torpor. The treasury was bankrupt and for seventy 
years had always exhibited a deficit. In this year, 
1855, the deficiency amounted to 158,319,900 florins. 
Paper money in enormous quantities had been issued 
and notes were in circulation down to the face value 
of five cents. 

By the loss of Lombardy in 1859, not only the Aus- 
trian power but the Austrian system was crushed 
in Italy. The incapacity of Napoleon III. and his fear 
of Germany prevented still greater humiliation. The 
populations rejoiced over their oppressor's fall. In Bo- 
hemia men said "If we are beaten we shall have a con- 
stitution; if we conquer we shall get the inquisition. " 
The empire seemed on the eve of dissolution; the em- 
peror saw his blunder and Ba':h was dismissed. The 
absolutist machine in Austria as in Spain and elsewhere 
proved to be ruinousl}' expensive. It was an imitation 
of the old stupidity that pretended to govern by de- 
stroying the nation's capital in taxes and extortions, 
without permitting those free energies necessar}^ to 
accumulate capital. This system has always of ne- 
cessity withered every region it touched, and has often 
been adopted in the Austrian dominions, in order to 
work the financial ruin of those whom the civil and 




Bohemian National Theatre. 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 741 

ecclesiastical authorities desired to crush. The gov- 
ernment became a political gambler and borrower. 
Austria's resources diminished, her extravagance be- 
came greater each year. Every expedient was adopted 
to procure money, — except the right one. August 15, 
1859, the emperor in the last extremity of humiliation 
before his ancient enemy issued a manifesto promising 
again to consider better the necessities of his peoples,, 
and their prosperity. But he still claimed the po- 
sition of a deputy providence appointed to do for 
them what they could do infinitely better for them- 
selves. Golichowsky succeeded Bach. This imbe- 
cile forbade the Bohemians even to print their own 
political newspaper. This in A. D. 1859!* Rieger 
presented a .petition to the emperor with success. 
Still the same reluctance to take a single step forward 
except by fierce compulsion. October 20th, i860, 
appeared the important diploma that constitutes a 
semblance of Magna Charta for Bohemia. This new 
Lettre de Majestd is expressed as follows; 

TO MY PEOPLES: 

When I succeeded to the throne of 
my ancestors the monarchy was exposed to violent shocks. 

After a contest that was deeply painful to my paternal feelings, 
there appeared in my countries, as almost everywhere in the violent- 
ly shaken dominions of the European continent, in the first place the 
necessity of a severe diminution of the governing authority. The 
public weal and the security of the majority of the peaceful inhabi- 
tants of the monarchy also demanded this; the excited passions and 
the painful memories of the most recent past rendered the untram- 
meled action of the recent contending and hostile elements impossi- 
ble. 

I desired to be informed of the needs and desires of the several 

* Only in October 1S66 did it become allowable to telegraph in 
Bohemian. 



742 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

countries of the monarchy, and therefore I have through my open 
letter of March 5th, estabUshed and convoked the imperial parliament 
in greater strength, 

In considering the propositions presented by it to me I found my- 
self called upon to issue this day and to announce this diploma with 
regard to the establishment of the state rights of the monarchy, the' 
rights and positions of the several kingdoms and countries, as well as 
the renewed security, settlement, and representation of the states 
union (staats — rechtlich) of the entire monarchy. 

I perform a ruler's duty in uniting in this way a principle of equal- 
ity, the recollections, the opinions of right, and the claims of right of 
my countries and peoples with the practical necessities of the monar- 
chy, and in entrusting the prosperous development and strengthening 
of the institutions bestowed, or revived with complete satisfaction of 
mind, to the ripened knowledge and patriotic energy of my peoples. 

I hope for a fruitful blessing upon them through the protection and 
grace of the Almighty in whose hands repose the destinies of princes 
and of nations, and who will not deny His blessing to my profound 
and conscientious paternal care. 

Vienna, October 20, i860, 

Franz Joseph, M, P. 

This patent was completed by that of February 26th, 
1861. This latter instituted two chambers, upper and 
lower; the latter consisting of 340 members, thus dis- 
tributed : —Hungary 85; Bohemia 54; Moravia 22; 
Gallicia 38; Austria 28; Transylvania 26; Venetia 20. 
By the diploma of October 20th, the ministers of the in- 
terior, of justice and of worship were suppressed. By 
the patent of February they were revived. Of so little 
account are paper constitutions! Needless to state 
that the kingdom of Bohemia took serious umbrage 
at this contemptuous rejection of her claims to autono- 
my on the ancient basis. The representatives above re- 
ferred to were to be elected by the several diets; and 
this parliament should take cognizance of all subjects 
except foreign policy. The greater number of coun- 
tries protested, and refused to elect deputies. But 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 743 

Bohemia complied. Seduced b}' the delusive policy 
of inviting the emperor to be crowned at Prague the 
deputies attended at Vienna. But the evasion of this 
ceremony has continued to this day. It would recog- 
nize obligations that Austria had determined to abol- 
ish. The diet saw assembled only 200 deputies in- 
stead of 350. But in Bohemia the recovery of a mod- 
ified and yet extensive liberty of the press at once 
conferred a peaceable means of expressing the wishes 
and wants of the nation, as created by the inherent 
necessities of its commercial, social, educational and 
national life and energy. At once the political ele- 
ment of the press assumed a great development. The 
spirit of Havlicek revived in Gregor, Sladkovsky, 
Vausa, Tonner, Palacky, Rieger, Skrejszowsky and 
others. But while the former system of notification 
had been abolished, the new subordination to the 
courts, acting in all cases without any jury system, 
fell heavily on the journalists. In the short space of 
three years in Bohemia and Moravia fourteen Slav 
journals have had imposed on their writers sixty-one 
months imprisonment with or without hard labor, the 
latter involving irons and deprivation of food, and 
21,450 florins in fines. But the nation exhibited the 
most intense attachment to its own literature. The 
university still continued in the hands of Germans; 
and loud complaints arose of that injustice. 

The Hungarians peremptorily refused to discuss 
their interests in common with the other states. Only 
with them did the Reichsrath exercise full powers. 
Among the others whose jurisdiction was limited the 
right of voting was so dexterously managed that the 
German minority controlled the assembly. The distri- 
bution of members also conferred a larger rspresenta- 



744 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

tion on the German than on the Slav populations. 
The German hamlet of Parchen with 500 inhabitants 
had one deputy; the Slav town of Kladno with 
8,000 had none. Sullen discontent and opposition 
in Hungary and open resistance in Russian Po- 
land in 1863 created excitement in the Austrian prov- 
inces. In 1865 the emperor dismissed Schmerling; 
and adjourned the reichsrath until the Hungarian and 
Croatian diets could decide on the terms of their con- 
nection with the empire. The Hungarian diet opened 
December 14th, 1865, and demanded the absolute res- 
toration of the laws of 1848. The debates were inter- 
rupted by the war with Prussia and Italy. The suc- 
cesses of Austrian arms at Lissa and Custozza were 
terribly offset by the defeats at Jicen and Nachod, 
June 26 and 29; and b}' the crushing blow of Sadowa 
July 4th, 1861. Prague and a great part of Bohemia 
were at once occupied by the Prussians. Peace was 
signed at Prague August 3rd, and the Slav city which 
had witnessed and suffered untold cruelty and oppres- 
sion from Austria for centuries now beheld with gen- 
uine exultation the expulsion of her oppressors from 
Germany and Italy. In order to secure preponderance 
in these two countries Bohemia had been systematic- 
ally beaten down. 

After the rout of Sadowa the condition of Austria 
was chaotic. The king of Prussia had distributed 
copies of a proclamation in which he stimulated Bo- 
hemian national feeling to the utmost tension by 
allusions to a "proud kingdom," its past history and 
its recognized rights. The Austrian officials being 
expelled the Chekh read with avidity millions of rev- 
olutionary pamphlets distributed through the districts 
held by the Prussians. Austria as a last resource was 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 745 

compelled to invite a German statesman, Count Beust 
from Dresden, to extricate her from the deadly peril 
that menaced her existence. The status of Hungary 
was promptly decided on. The diet was immediately 
convened; and June 28th following, the charter of 
Austro-Hungary was approved. Although the name 
of Francis Deak shall be forever held in honor for 
his great services to his country yet the Magyars de- 
liberated only for themselves. A formal distinction 
of the portions of the empire as "Cisleithanian" and 
"•Transleithanian" was now adopted from the river Lei- 
tha, an affluent of the Danube, a little below Vienna. 
Hungary was included under the latter title and its 
ministry assembled at Pesth; under the former term 
are included the other groups. These diets had been 
convened at the same time as that at Pesth but were 
not consulted on their relations with the "other coun- 
tries belonging to his majesty;" but were simply in- 
vited to send deputies to a reichsrath soon to assem- 
ble at Vienna. In this dual system the Bohemians 
and other Slavs beheld a Germanizing policy and they 
refused to attend the reichsrath. This persistent 
demand for national recognition was falsely inter- 
preted as a dislike to parliamentary institutions. 

December 21st, 1867, was passed in the reichsrath 
a fundamental law defining the rights of the kingdoms 
and countries represented. It confirms the rights of 
all citizens as equal before the law, the inviolability 
of domicile, the rights of association, the freedom of 
conscience and includes one article, — No. ig, that de- 
serves a place : — "All the races of the empire are on 
a footing of equality, and each one of the nations uni- 
versally has a right that the inviolability of its lan- 
guage and nationality shall be secured. The equality 



746 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

of all languages used in the empire for purposes of 
administration, for schools, and public life is recog- 
nized by the state. In those countries which are oc- 
cupied by different races, all public educational estab- 
lishments ought to be so arranged that every citizen 
may be able to make use of all the means necessary 
for instruction without being obliged to learn a second 
language," 

The first parliamentary ministr}' of Cisleithania 
formed December 30th, 1867, at once abolished the 
Concordat that had cursed Austria since 1855. Civil 
marriage was established; and jurisdiction over ques- 
tions of marriage limited to the civil courts. Edu- 
cation was released from the authority of the church; 
the subject of mixed marriages was regulated; May 
1868 trial by jury restored, even in cases affecting 
the press. 

As soon as the right of public assemblage was con- 
ceded, enormous meetings were held in Bohemia. 
The national party claimed their ancient privileges; 
and Francis Joseph was constrained to proceed to 
Prague to confer with the leaders of the national 
party, Palacky, Rieger, and Clam Martinetz. But 
at this period before the jury law was enacted no mer- 
cy was shown to the press in Bohemia; now under 
the jury system juries in Chekh towns alwa5's acquit- 
ted their countrymen; and the government, still retain- 
ing its old rancorous spirit where it dared, transferred 
newspaper prosecutions to German towns where not 
one word of the articles complained of could be read. 

August 22, 1868, the Chekh deputies issued a dec- 
laration that still expresses their claims: 

I. Between Bohemia and the sovereign there exist 
mutual rights and duties which are equally binding 
on both parties. 



FROM i8 48 TO THE PRESENT TIME 747 

II. Austria is not one undivided kingdom. The 
kingdom of Bohemia is attached to the rest of the 
empire by a purel)' personal tie. 

III. No alteration in this state of things can be 
made except by a new contract between the kingdom 
and the dynasty. 

IV. No assembly, reichsrath or chamber of depu- 
ties, foreign to Bohemia can impose on the kingdom 
the debts of the empire or any other public burdens. 

V. The Hungarians have a right to treat with the 
sovereign concerning their own interests, but not those 
of Bohemia. 

VI. Cisleithania is a division of the country which 
has no historical foundation, and Bohemia is not 
bound to send deputies to a Cisleithanian assembly. 

VII. The constitutional questions now pending be- 
tween the sovereign and the Bohemian nation ought 
to be regulated by common agreement and the repre- 
sentatives of the political Bohemian nation shall be 
chosen on the basis of a just electoral law and an 
honest election. 

The Slav deputies of the Moravian diet published 
a similar declaration a short time afterward. "The 
dual government," they said, "is founded neither 
on historical nor political rights. No deputy from 
the margravate of Moravia has had any right to 
enter into an arrangement with the reichsrath on 
behalf of this land, nor to surrender the legislative 
power and political rights of the Moravian diet to the 
diet of any other country. The constituent power of 
the reichsrath is based on a palpable violation of an- 
cient law, and its decrees are null and void. No ar- 
rangement is possible unless it is founded on our his- 
torical rights, and is concluded by the sovereign in 



748 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

agreement with our lawfully constituted and elected 
diet." The Chekh deputies declined to attend a diet 
held at Briinn (Brno) as they considered it an illegal 
body. The national party persistently rejected the 
existing constitution; and this condition of things con- 
tinued down to the Franco-German war. 

July, 1868, the fifth centenary of the birth of Hus 
called out strong exhibitions of national feeling; and 
the government considered the occasion serious enough 
to proclaim Prague in a state of siege ; and the city 
so continued until April, 1869. The signers of the 
declaration were again elected; and the government 
eventually changed the mode of election to the reichs- 
rath from the diets to the electors; but this measure 
did not succeed. 

After Sadowa Austria continued under the control 
of the German majority who strongly sympathized 
with Prussian victories; and still dreamed of the ab- 
sorption of the entire empire by the Greater Germany. 

In February, 1871, the emperor resolved on a feder- 
alist policy; and Count Hohenwart became leader of 
the cabinet. He placed himeslf in consultation with 
Rieger and Palacky, and proposed to the Reichsrath 
a new measure that conferred enlarged powers on pro- 
vincial diets, and granted them the initiative in leg- 
islative affairs. His proposal was rejected. Septem- 
ber 14th the Bohemian diet was opened with a royal 
message. The Chekh attended, as for the first time 
in years the government had not falsified the returns, 
and the Chekh majority was conceded. The speech 
from the throne promised full recognition of the 
rights of the kingdom of Bohemia, and that .a corona- 
tion should take place; and invited the diet to ascer- 
tain the means whereby a cordial agreement could be 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 749 

effected between Bohemia and the remainder of the 
monarchy. "Recognizing the politicaJ importance of 
the crown of Bohemia, and calling to mind the re- 
nown and glory which that crown has conferred on our 
predecessors, and filled with gratitude for the fidelity 
with which the Bohemian nation has sustained our 
throne, we are prepared to recognize the rights of the 
kingdom, and to repeat this recognition by coronation 
oath." Such was the repetition of the delusive prom- 
ises always at hand in Austria to enable the sovereign 
to obtain a present advantage. The ministry perfectly 
well knew that no suggestions coming from Bohemia 
respecting their relations with Hungary would be ac- 
ceptable to that country. Fundamental articles were 
drawn up in the direct interest of federation. But this 
was precisely the condition which the Germans and 
Magyars repudiated. The secret of the resolute op- 
position of the Germans in Bohemia to any scheme of 
federation is found in the fact that Slav nationality in- 
terposes between Berlin and Vienna, and the realiza- 
tion of the Greater Germany is prevented. 

Under the treaty of Prague whereby Austria was 
expelled from Germany, Prussia seems to have avoided 
binding herself not to interfere in Austria. Berlin 
has continued to devote much attention to Germans 
on the Elbe and the Danube. The strong influence 
of German and Magyar has been concentrated against 
Bohemia. Bismarck and Andrassy joined hands; and 
in order to conceal the projects intended the Austrian 
government declared that the Fundamental Articles 
must be submitted to the reichsrath where German 
and Hungarian policy preponderated. Bohemia pro- 
tested at Vienna ineffectually. Hohenwart resigned, 
and Beust was respectabl}' exiled as envoy to Lon- 



750 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

don. A new German ministry under Auersperg over- 
ruled the promises made to Bohemia and the diet at 
Prague was invited to send deputies to the reichsrath. 
The Slav press again became subjected to severe pros- 
ecutions; and the police publicly destroyed the im- 
perial manifesto that solemnly pledged the recogni- 
tion of the rights of Bohemia. The Bohemian diet 
rejected these insidious proposals that had been re- 
peatedly renewed ; and with the other Slav assemblies 
was at once dissolved November 25, 1871. 

Still, under the constitution of 1867, many rights 
were secured, as that of individual liberty, the secu- 
rity of the household, the right of association and 
public assembly, civil marriage and the liberation of 
education from ecclesiastical control. All these rights 
though yet imperfect, and liable to be infringed by 
the caprice of two sovereigns meeting at Gastein or 
elsewhere, are not old in Bohemia. Nevertheless for a 
thousand years Bohemians have fought and bled and 
endured untold martyrdoms first to defend' and next 
to recover these rights and others that all civilized 
men maintain as fundamental ; and because Bohemians 
have done all this they have been and they still are 
denounced by the clericals as an outcast and base 
people, their very name a symbol of reproach. No 
other nation has ever so stoutly maintained the rights 
of man, and no other has been so reviled and perse- 
cuted for doing so. 

Austria's calculating neutrality during the Franco- 
Prussian and Russo-Turkish war received its stipu- 
lated recompense in the annexation of Bosnia. Ger- 
many probably has an interest in forcing Austria to 
the East, partly as an obstacle in the way of Russia, 
and partly that her hold over the Germans inherwes- 



FROM 1848 TO THE PRESENT TIME 751 

tern dominions may be loosened. By the occupation 
of Bosnia and Herzegovina Austria has been enabled 
to dominate Servia, and almost to hold that kingdom 
in her grasp. Austria and Prussia by a secret treaty 
concluded in 1879, but not then published, have agreed 
to defend each other in case of attack by Russia. 
Another element fertile in disunion being thus intro- 
duced into the empire, and Austria becoming thus 
more and more Slav and less German, conciliation of 
national feelings has been felt increasingly imperative. 
The reactionary Auersperg ministry fell at once and 
Count Taafe who succeeded announced a nationalist 
policy to the deep chagrin of the so-called constitution- 
alists or German party of Cisleithania, By judicious 
alliances with the Chekh and the appointment of a 
Moravian deputy as minister of justice, M. Prazak, 
Count Taafe succeeded in inducing the Chekh party 
to take their places in the reichsrath. A national 
university was conceded, and proved a great success. 
It supplied an opportunity for the exercise of Bohe- 
mian intellect denied for three centuries. By this in- 
stitution and the national theater Bohemian life re- 
vived; and the free mind of the nation bids fair to 
triumph over the cruelty of councils and priests, the 
tyranny of absolutists and public plunderers, and the 
despotism that struggled with ferocity and blood and 
carnage to crush free thought among mankind. 

The complete equality of the Chekh and German 
languages was not only proclaimed but secured. The 
reduction of suffrage qualification enabled the Chekh 
to secure a majority in the diet of Prague. The Ger- 
mans have refused since 1886, to take part in the de- 
liberations. The}' now demand a dual government 
for Bohemia. The German party has failed to secure 



752 HISTORY OF BOHEMIA 

a proclamation of German as the official language in 
Cisleithania; and in 1885 lost fifteen votes in the 
reichsrath. The different sections of the nationalists 
known locally as the Young Chekh and the Old Chekh 
are represented in the diet of Prague; and although 
the pristine rights of the kingdom have not yet been 
formally regained the material substance is now largely 
secured. Paper constitutions, and deceitful promises, 
and Lettres de Majeste are obsolete. Institutions 
have become interwoven again with the life of the 
nation. Austria has discovered the falsehood, the 
folly, the inhumanity of her persistent attempts to 
crush out human aspirations, human private judgment, 
and human preceptions of right and wrong by the 
fierce rapacity of church or council. Men must be 
governed as men, and not as insensible machines at 
the instance of insatiable despots. 

The troubles in Bohemia during the present year, 
1894, arise from the long established and persistent 
effort of the Germans to separate the German districts 
of the country from the Chekh districts, and place them 
under an independent jurisdiction. It is a thoroughly 
secession movement. If it should succeed the King- 
dom of Bohemia as a unity would be destroyed for- 
ever. Hence the passionate attachment of the Bohe- 
mians to their undivided kingdom with its ancient 
prerogatives would receive precisely that fatal blow 
desired by Austria, and struggled for by the Germans. 
The effort has been and is manifested by many signs: 
such as the obliteration of all Bohemian names from 
streets, the abolition of the Bohemian language; the 
creation of separate local jurisdiction and legislation; 
and other acts subversive of Bohemian national laws. 
The attempt is most insidious, and favors the cry, 
"Drang nach Osten. " 



APPENDIX. 

DOCUMENTORUM. 

XVII. 
GOLDAST. 

Investitura de Regno Bohemias, et Marchionatu Moraviae, et in 

feudatio Ducatus Austria, et Marchionatu Stiriae 

anno 1262. 

Richardus Dei gratia Romanorum Rex Samper-Augustus, lUustri 
Ottocaro Boemite Regi, charissimo Principi suo gratiam suam et omne 
bonum. Cum Regalis dignitas potestatis quandam quodammodo div- 
inae in terra Majestatis imaginem reprsesentet: et quanto quis sua 
voluntate innititur, tanto copiofioribus gratiae suae donis et insigniori- 
bus illustratur; decens et congruum aestimamus, ut ad imitationem 
illius, qui omnibus dat, et nulli improperat, illi nostra benignitas gra- 
tiosior atque benigniosior semper illuceat, qui nostras beneplaci- 
tae voluntatis cum majori liberalitate et promtitudine se conformat. 
Hinc est, quod cum nuUius gratificationis muneribus, sed propriae 
duntaxat virtutis et liberalitatis instinctu pellectus, liberalitatis ad 
iiostri cultum Domini fi converfus. et promittas legaliter etiam dein- 
ceps nostrae devotionis obsequiis et mandatis constanter et fideliter in- 
haerere: Nos te ob hoc condignioribus honoribus et gratiosioribus 
beneficiis prosequi cupientes, te de Principatibus Regni Bohemias et 
Marchionatus Moraviae ac omnibus feudis dictis duobus Principati- 
bus attenentibus.quos et quae clarae memoriae pater et progenitores tui, 
juste et rationabiliter ab Imperio tenuerunt, auctoritate prassentium 
investimus, tibique dictos Principatus et feuda simpliciter auctoritate 
Regia confirmamus. 

Et quia non multum gratiae tantas potentiae et claritatis viro per ista 
videmus impendere, quae constituit claros progenitores tuos ofSciosis 

753 



754 APPENDIX 

laboribus et gloriosis actibus meruisse: Nos te pro tuae devotionis mer- 
itis pienius et insignius honorare volentes, tibi et tuis legitimis haeredi- 
bus, qui tibi in bonis feudalibus secundum jus et consuetudmem Sac- 
ri Imperii de jure poteiunt et habebunt succedere, pro nobis et suc- 
cessoribus nostris Imperatoribus et Regibus Rom., illos duos nobiles 
Principatus, Ducatum videlicet Austrise, et Marchionatum Stiriae, ad. 
manum Imperii et nostram de jure libere devolutis; cum omnibus 
feudis ad dictos duos Principatus pertinentibus, ab Imperio debitis et 
consuetum teneri, integraliter et simpliciter in feudum concedimus et 
donamus, tibique et legitimis tuis haeredibus, quemadmodum est 
praescriptum, jure et titulo feudali perpetuo possidentes. Nulla igitur 
persona, sublimis vel humilis, ecclesiastica vel mundana praesumat 
hujus nostrae investitionis, confirmationis, et concessionis paginam 
infringere, vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Quod qui fecerit, ipso 
facto se noverit bannum Imperii et nostrae otfensam Celstitudinis in- 
currisse. In istorum autem omnium testimonium et evidentiam plen- 
iorem praefens inde conscribi, et sigillo Majestatis nostrse jussimus 
communiri. Datum Aquisgrani. IX., die Augusti, Indictione V. Anno 
Domini mcclxii. Regni vero nostri anno vi. 

XXXIII. 

Caroli IV. Imp. Confirmatio investiturae Richardi Ca,oaris super 
RegnoBohemiae et Ducatu Austriae, 
anno 1348. 

Carolus Dei gratia Romanorum Rex, semper Augustus, et Bohemiae 
Rex, ad perpetuam rei memoriam. Innata cordi nostro benignitas, 
circa fidelium et devotorum nostrorum honores et commoda continuis 
intenta vigiliis, votis ipsorum annuere jugiter nos inducit, quoties 
poscentium vox est justa. In hoc enim liberalitatisinostrae non errat 
intentio: fed Regalis sceptri fastigium extollere salubriter arbitratur. 
Sane ad nostrae Celsitudinis, Venerabilis Archiepisc. Pragensis, et 
Olomucensis, et Luthomuschelensis, Episcopi, nee non IHustres Joan- 
nes Carinthise Comesque Tyrolis et Goritiae, Germanus noster char- 
issimus ac Nicolaus Oppavias et Ratiborias Duces, Prselati, Duces, 
Principes, Barones, Proceres, et Nobiles regni nostri Bohemiae et 
pertinentiarum ejusdem, proesentiam accedentes, nobis humiliter sup- 
plicarunt: ut quasdam literas Ricardi Divi Romanorum Regis Proe- 



APPENDIX 755 

decessoris nostri nobis per ipsos exhibitas, quarum tenor et series 
sequitur in hoec verba: Richardus D. G. Romanorum Rex semper 
Augustus universis Christi et Sacri Imperij Romani 'fidelibus, ad 
quos proesentes literas pervenire contigerit, habere notitiam rei gestae. 
Cum regalis dignitas potestatis quandam quodammodo divince in 
terris Majestatis imaginem reproesentet, et quanto quis divine volun- 
tati magis innititur, tanto copiosioribus illustratur, decens et con- 
gruum cestimamus: ut ad imitationem illius, qui omnibus dat et nulli 
improperat, illi nostra benignitas gratiosior atque benignior semper 
illuceat, qui nostrae benepl icito voluntatis cum majori liberalitate et 
promtitudine se conformat. Hinc est, quod, cum Illustris Ottoc. Bo- 
hemiae Rex, nullius gratificationis muneribus, sed propriae duntaxat 
virtutis et liberalitatis instinctu pellectus.liberaliter ad nostri cultum 
Dominij sit conversus, et promittat legaliter, deinceps nostras devo- 
tionis obsequiis et mandatis constanter et fideliter adhaefurum. Nos 
ipfum ob hoc condignioribus honoribus et gratiofioribus beneficiis 
prosequi cupientes, nosse vos volumus universos: quod eundem Re- 
gem, de Principatibus Regni Bohemioe et Marchionatus Moravioe, ac 
omnibus Feudis dictis duobus Principatibus attinentibus, quos et quoe 
claroe memorioe Pater et progenitores ejusd., juste et rationabiliter ab 
Imperio tenuerunt, authoritate prcesentium investimus; eique dictos 
Principatus et Feuda simpliciter authoritate Regia confirmamus Et 
quia non multum gratiae tantae potentioe et claritatis viro per ista 
videmur impendere, quoe constat claros progenitores suos officiosis 
laboribus et gloriosis actibus meruisse, Nos ipsum, pro fuoe devotionis 
meritis, plenius et insignius honorare volentes, eidem Regi et suis 
Isgitimis Heredibus, qui ei in bonis Feudalibns secundum jus et con- 
suetudinem sacri Imperij de jure poterunt et habebunt succedere, pro 
nobis et nosiris successoribus Imperatoribus et Regibus Romanis, illos 
duos nobiles Principatus,. Ducatum videl. Austrice, et Marchionatum 
Stirioe, ad manum Imperij et ad nostram de jure libere devolutos, cum 
omnibus feudis ad dictos duos pertinentibus Principatus, -ab Imperio 
debitis et consuetis teneri, integraliter et simpliciter in feudum conce- 
dimus: eique et hujusmodi suis Heredibus in perpetuum proesentis 
scripti patrocinio stabilimus, ab ipso et suis Heredibus, quemadme d- 
um est prcescriptum, jure et titulo feudali perpetuo possidendcs. 
Nulla igitur persona sublimis vel humilis, ecclesiastica vel mundana, 
prcefumat hujus nostroe Investitionis, Confirmationis et Concessionis 
nostrae paginam infringere, vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Quod 



756 APPENDIX - 

qui fecerit, ipsofacto se noverit bannum Imperij et nostras offensam 
Celsitud., incurrisse. In istorum autem omnium testimonium et evi- 
dentiam pleniorem. praesens scriptum exinde conscribi. et sigillo Ma- 
jestatis nostroe jussimus communiri. Datum Aquisgrani, Nona die 
Aug. Indictione quarta. Anno Domini Millesimo, Ducentesimo, Sex- 
agesimo secundo. Regni vero nostri sexto. 

Nostra confirmare authoritate regia dignaremur: Nos utique prce- 
fatorum Proelatorum, Ducum, Principum, Baronum, Procerum, et 
Nobilium, quos honorum et felicis status Romani Regni, et sacri Im- 
perii fideles et sollicitos proe coeteris novimus Zelatores, ipsumque 
Regnum Bohemioe, Romani regni membrum fere nobilms, supplica- 
ttonibos benignius inclinati, proefatas literas ac omnia ac singula con- 
tenta in eisdem laudamus, ratificamus, approbamus, confirmamus, et 
de novo, ex certa sententia, de nostroe Romance regioe plenitudine po- 
testatis damns, tenore proesentium conferimus et donamus, volentes 
de uberiore dono gratioe Romance regice, et concedentes expresse: 
quod tarn in judico quam extra, ubicunque necessarium fuerit, aut 
etiam opportunum, nostris prcesentibus, velut proedictis originalibus 
Uteris, adhibeatur ab omnibus et singulis plena fides: nostrasque 
proesentes dictis cequipollere originalibus per omnia, decernimus, 
proecipimus, et mandamus. Hujus rei testes sunt: Gerlacus Archie- 
piscopus Mogunt. S. Imperii per Germaniam Archicancellarius; Ro- 
dulph us senior Dux Saxonioe, S. Imperii Marescalcus: Rodulphus 
junior et Fridericus de Deck Duces; Joannes Burggravius Nurmber- 
gen: Ulricus Lantgravius de Luiktenberg: Fridericus de Orlemund: 
Ulricus de Helffenstein: et Rodulphus de Werthem, Comites; Petrus 
de Hery, Craf to de Hohenloch : Gotfriodus de Pruneczk: Eberhard- 
us de Walkse; Fridericus de Walkse: Egolff de Friberg: et Burch- 
ardus de Etlbach- Romani Regni proefati Principes et Barones. In 
quorum omnium testimonium, et ad certitudinem pleniorem, proesen- 
tes fieri jussimus, et nostroe Majestatis sigilli appensione communiri. 
Datum Pragoe, Anno Domini, Millesimo, Trecentesimo, Quadrage- 
simo octavo, Indictione prima. Septimo Idus April. Ragnorum nos- 
trorum Anno secundo. 



The foregoing have been selected from a very large number of 
State documents all illustrative of the history set forth in the text of 
this volume. Only very few can find space here. 



APPENDIX 757 

♦'Saint John Nepomuk." 

The name of this fabulous person, as given in the text, is that of 
the supposed saint canonized in 1729 under Benedict XIII, The 
traitor thrown into the Maldau by order of Wenzel was named John 
of Pomudk. For two centuries the event was forgotten. But in the 
seventeenth century when the Jesuits desired to suppUnt, in the ven- 
eration of the Bohemians, John Hus, who was universally known as 
Mistr Jan, they concocted a new legend, containing John with the 
name Nepomuk attached to it. This they called Mistr Jan; and 
when the Bohemian literature had been destroyed this Mistr Jan took 
the place of the real Mistr Jan; and the canonization was effected to 
complete the substitution, His images, with a halo, and a crucifix 
instead of a Bible, were set up in all the houses, and those of Hus 
destroyed. The only John of Nepomuk that ever lived was of the 
reformed faith and died for it. This person was confounded with 
Pomudk. As no possible merit could be assigned to the fictitious 
Nepomuk the Jesuits attached the name to the story of the drowning; 
and set up a statue in a place that did not exist in 1393. The bridge 
was not constructed at that time. See a valuable brochure on this 
subject by O. Abel, Die Legende vom heiligen Johann von Nepomuk, 
eine geschichtliche Abhandlung, Berlin, 1855 80. 



ipstide::^. 



Adriatic trade 241 

Adlergebirge 12 

^dui 20 

^tius 35 

Agnes princess .203 

Aix la-chapelle 55 

Alexander II 113 

Alphabet, Cyrillian, 57 

Ambrose 32 

Andreas, bishop , 177 

•' conflict with. . .179-184 

Anne or Bohemia 379 

Antes 19 

Apulia 55 

Aquileia 29 

Arbitration Court 254 

Ardaric 36 

Armiiiius .25 

Arnulph 61 

Arnold of Brescia . . , 152 

Attila 33. 34 

Augsburg, battle near 64 

Austria 19 

Austrians, defeated 116 

Aussig, victory at 441 

Austerlitz 706 

Avars 45 

Avidius Cassius 30 

B. 

Baan 36 

Balthazar George 652 

Basle, council at 445 

Basil, the Macedonian 56 

Boemervald 11 

Barbarossa 149 

Bavaria 19 

Bebellius 29 

Becho 47 

Belleisle 698 

Benedict VIII 59 

Betzprem 85 

Bilin.. 14 

Black death 360 

Boab 21 

Boeribistce 20 

Bohemian language 682, 716, 751 

•' estates 680,718,742 

" authority... 65 

Bohemia, a refuge 32 

" widely known 120 

" Maritime 243 



Boii 18, 19, 20, 21 

Boleslav 63 

II ,65 

III. Rufus 67 

" Chrabry 68 

Bojonia 19 

Borivoj 44, 61 

Brandenburg 22 

Brdy Hills 12 

Bretislav 71, 87 

37 

" Pragmatic decree 95 

" Era of 97 

Borziwoj 136 

Brunn 57 

Bruno, bishop 249 

Budvveis, Budejovice 62 

Buianium 22 

Burgundians 22 

c. 

Calabria 55 

Calixtines 478 

Carafa, cardinal 602 

Carinthia .- 250 

Carnival of cruelty 6o8-626 

Carolinum 688 

Carnuntium 24 

Catalauni an fields 35 

Celibacy 83, 125 

" agnostic 127 

Celakovsky 707, 709 

Cimbri -. 18 

Chagan 49 

Charles IV 357 

V 504 

Chatti 33 

Cestmir 44 

Charlemagne 36,45,46 

Cherusci 25 

Chotek count 715 

Churches 54 

Clergy, married 126, 128, 129 

Cognizance. 150 

Coin 289, 316 

■' debased 616 

Conrad 62 

Communities.. 168, 181, 308, 325, 326, 371, 

372.373. 374 

Cosmas 133 

Colonies 193 

Compactata 450 

Constance Council .402 

Committee, St. Wenzel's ...723, 724, 727 
Concordat 740 



760 



INDEX 



Crusade, first 135 

second 148 

" third 163 

" curse of ig6 

Cyril 56, 58 

Courts 100 

Cracow 39 

D. 



Dacians. . 20, 2g 

Dagobert 4o 

Dalemil 42 

Debates in parliament 583 

Deak, Francis 745 

Defenestration of Prague 573 

Deugchekh 35 

Dej m Count 723 

Diet, the Bloody 54-. 

Diploma 73i 

Disciples 14, 

Detmar 65 

Dnieper in 

Doinitian 2q 

Dniester iq 

Dominicans 192 

Dragovit 4, 

Drahomira 62 

Drusus 23. 2y 

Dubravka 6 . 

Doubrovsky ^■70y 



£dict of Toleration 702 

Eginhard 46, 47, 48 

Ellac 38 

English troops , 114 

Erasmus 495 



Faster, Peter 721, 734 

Ferdinand of Sfyria 575 

" " Cruelties of ...... .575, 576 

Ferdinand I. King 499 

" allied with Charles V..505 

" " quarrels with estates 

■ 572,513,514 

" ' severities against Bohe- 
mia 540 

" " destroys the constitu- 
tion 545 

Flagellants 36 

Franzensbad 14 

Fredegarius 45 

Fritigil 30 

Fvsians 42 

Fugitives to Bohemia 219 

Frederic, elector Palatine 585 

Frederic of Prussia 696 



G. 

Galatia 20 

Gallienus 33 

Gepidae 36 

Getae 20 

Ginzel .57 

Gleig Rev. G. R 711 

Gold.... 77 

Golden age 367 

Gothland 28 

Goths 22 

Gregory VII 43 

" of Monte Longo 230 

Guido Cardinal 148 

Gustavus Adolphus 663, 670 

Gypsies 125 

H. 



Hannibal 19 

Havlicek 709, 728, 734, 739 

Heimberg 24 

Heinrich Bretislav 162 

Hellespont 20 

Helvetii 18 

Henry II 59 

" of Carinthea 332 

Hermenfried 36 

Hercynian Forest 23, 33 

Herman 28 

Hermunduri 22, 23 

Hildebrand 128 

Hostivit 44 

Hradschin, Hradcany 44 

Highways 170 

Hungary. 109 

" desolate 220 

Huns 32 

Hussites 410 

" war 421 

" bill of rights ' 422 

" victorious, 428, 437, 438, 44T, 445 

" reformation 492, 493 

" formula 538 

" books 477 



I. 



Illyricum 29 

Images 55 

Iruac 36 



James I. of England 585, 586, 587 

Janov 376, 701 

Jaromir 69 

Jaromir 114 

Jessenius, dreadful sentence of 606 

Jedensburg battle 281 

Jelacic , 735 

Jews, success of 123 

John III. pope 58 



INDEX 



761 



John of Hussinetz.386, 389, 390, 391, 392, 

393.394.409 

John of Laxembourg 341, 342, 351 

John of Trocnovv 418 

J ohn Frederic of Saxony 506 

:' " war against. . 510, 5111 

Joseph II • 704 

Jungman 707, 709 

K. 

Kaadan 47 

Karlorary 14 

Kattvald 26, 27, 28 

K'jenigsberg founded 240 

Kaiiiigsmark 677 

Kniets 37, 42 

Klicpera 707 

Krescniyl 44 

Kritasir 20 

Kollar 709 

Knighthood 154 

Komensk) 655,656 

Kressenbrunn 242 

Kromeriz -Kremsier 735 

Kysebel 14 

L. 

Labe, river 12 

Labska Louka 12 

La Tour 735 

Lanzo 112 

Langensalza 114 

Lawyers in Bohemia 102, 103 

Lechs 37-42 

Lehil 64 

Lendivil 50 

Leopold II 704 

Lewis II 51 

" the German 51.52,53 

Leo the Armenian 55 

Leo IV 59 

Libu! sa 41 

Lipany 449 

Literature 86 

" revival of 141,155 

" destroyed 553,655,601.659 

Lothaire 51 

" n 51 

Longobards _ 23, 25. 26 

Louis the Pious 48 

Louis, King 490 

Liturgy, Slavonian 57. 58 

Libverda 14 

Lusatia 22, 71 

Lygians 22 

Lucius versus 29 

Ludmila 61, 62 

Luther, Martin 493 

M. 

Macha 707 

Macchiavelh 152 



Magdeburg 665 

Majestats brief 608 

Malada 65 

Marchfield 707 

Marbod ...2i, 23, 25 

Maria Theresa 698 

Marcomanni 21, 22, 23, 26, 30 

Marcus Aurelius 29, 30, 31 

Marienbad 14 

Magyars 61 

Marobodudum 22 

Matthias of Hungary 470 

Matthias, emperor 573 

Maximilian 490,560 

Meginfried 45 

Menu institutes 73 

Methodius 56 

Martyrs of 1020 606 

Metternich 708, 723 

Metz 60 

Michael Balbus 55 

Miecislav II 85 

Miliceni 46 

Miliduch 48 

Milic -...386, 711 

Mnata 44 

Mojmir 50, 51 

Moldavia 35 

Muhlberg, battle of 529 

N. 

Narodni Novini 728 

Narisci 23 

Neklan 44 

Nejedly 707 

Nezamysl 44 

Nobility, destruction of 627 

Normans 52 

o. 

Obodriti 45 

Oder 22 

Olmutz, Oloniouc 50, 57 

Opiterguin 29 

Otakar II 230, 251, 283 

Otto, emperor 63 

P. 

Palacky 707, 729, 737 

Palatinate 23 

Penal laws 619 

Pepin 45 

Pannonians 24 

Payne, Peter 388 

Peter, Chelcicky 482 

Pipara 30 

Podebrad. George 455, 459, 475 

Prokop, Holy 431 

Prague Museum Review 709 

Pillersdorf 730 

Pomerania 28 

Prague, treaty of 749 



762 



INDEX 



Presl , 707 

Premysl, Przemysl 43 

" Otakar 1 165 

" " II 227 

Provinces lost 271 

Prussians 236,239 

Pragmatic sanction 692 

Puchmayer , 707 

Q. 

Quadi 26,29,30 

Quarterly Review 713 

Quintilius Varus 25 

R. 

Radagais 33 

Ragotsky 689,691 

Rastislav 51, 53 

Reforms demanded 722 

Reformers.jn Bohemia 375 

Reformation" " 381,382 

Riesengebirge 22 

Reichenberg advertiser 727 

Richard of Cornwall 231 

Revolution in France 706, 719 

Roas 33 

Rohan, Prince Kamil .'. ....724 

Rudolph of Habsburg 259 

Austria King. ..330 
Rudolph II 562, 565, 570 

s. 

Saal 19 

Sadowa 744 

Safarik 707 

Safe Conduct to Hus 403 

Salm, Count 715 

Samo 39, 40 

Sarmatians 30 

Sazava 59, 71, no, 122, 134 

Schonau 14 

Scripture, veneration for no 

Sehlingi .22 

Semnones 22, 25, 26 

Sentius Saturninus 23 

Shogoon 49, 50 

Silesia 367, 702 

Sigebert 56 

Si.lk 77 

Sinus Codthanus 28 

Sigismund 382, 383, 384 

Slav Congress 731 

Snem, important in 

Sorbians 53 

Sobieslav 144, 145 

Spain 33 

Spinola 592 

Spitynev 61, 62 

" II 94,105 

Stephen 86 

Stransky 73 

Smalkald league '. 503 



Stadion, Rudolph 723 

Stickna. .. 711 

Sumava n 

Sutri, synod 99 

Svatopluk 58, 60, 61 

of Moravia 136 

Svatoslav '. 77 

Svornost 726, 733 

T. 

Tabor 425 

Tartars 205 

Taste in Bohemia igg 

Tauss 46 

" victory at 445 

Teuton 1 ig 

Thirty years war 577, jgi 

Tiberius 23, 26 

Thaddoeus of Siiessa 222 

Thakulph 52 

Thankmar 62 

Thiddag 67 

Thittmar 68 

Thun, Count Leo 730, 731 

Toplitz 14 

Truce of Gcd g8 

Tyl 707 

u. 

Ulrich 70 

Unislav 44 

V. 

Vaclav, Wenzel 65, ig5 

Vannius 28 

Venedi ig 

Venice and Bohemia 273 

Verdun, treaty of 51 

Vienna 24 

Vistula 18, I2 

Vladislav 140 

" II 147 

Vladykas 37,42 

Vladivoj 68,69 

Vladislav of Poland 485 

Vojen 44 

Voj tech 66, 77 

Vratislav 56 

Vratislav 62 

Vratislav II 108 

" King 116 

Vrsovici 68. 138 

Vysehrad 79 

w. 

Waldstein 631, 662, 669,672 

Waldenses 671, 482 

Waldo, Peter 1,157 

Wallachia 35 

Warta 22 



INDEX 



763 



Westphalia, peace of 678 

Wives of clergy, made slaves . ..,129 

Wenzel 1 198,199,229 

II 296, 298 

William ofHolland... 231 

Windisch-graetz 732 

Wolfgang.. . 66 

Wenzel ill Ji8 

" IV 37B 

White Mountain, battle 596 

Wycliffe 380, 381 

" books burned 394 



Yazyges . , 29 



Zavise of Falkenstein 297; 301, 302 

Zenghis Khan 207, 208, 209 

Zizka, John... 430,432, 436 



t 



